


Work In Progress

by Tater__Totss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Peter Parker, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Everyone Needs A Hug, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Non-Graphic Violence, Nonbinary Character, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Trans Male Character, Trans Peter Parker, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16070813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tater__Totss/pseuds/Tater__Totss
Summary: Peter was known to most of the world as Paige Parker, and his only escape from the suffocation of femininity was being Spiderman.What happens when he interns for Tony Stark, fights crime with Iron Man and loses the only family he has left?A lot happens.The title really is "Work In Progress" because like... Trans* joke. A trans fanfic written by a trans author but every trans person has different experiences. Also Tony is such a Dad™(I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW PARENTS ACT AND I CERTAINLY DON'T KNOW HOW DADS ACT AROUND KIDS BUT THERE IS NO ROMANCE BETWEEN PETER AND TONY. OKAY THANK YOU!)





	1. The Beginning of Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is suffering™ but then an unexpected guest shows up and things are about to change.
> 
> TW: Transphobia, bullying and violence!

Peter was glad that his spider-suit wasn't form fitting. His handmade jumper-suit hid his figure and allowed him to take a rest from binding when he was on patrol.

Peter was known to most of the world as Paige Parker, and his only escape from the suffocation of femininity was being Spiderman. He had attempted to come out at school, his aunt May and best friend Ned giving him their complete support; He emailed his teachers and May had called the school, his name had been changed on the roll and most staff were supportive. His classmates, however? Not so much. He had been pinned with the nickname 'Penis Parker' and was both verbally and physically abused almost every day.

He never mentioned his school problems to his aunt, not wanting her to worry too much about him; he was Spiderman for fuck's sake, he could handle some 15 year old bullies.  
Anyway, Peter Parker was glad that he did not have to bind while he completed his Spidey jobs, although some nights his dysphoria hit him harder than usual and he would just end up in his binder anyway.

Peter had been Spiderman for almost three months, his weekly testosterone jabs had been delivered without any changes to his schedule. The same time every week with no deviation.  
He woke up one morning with cramps and an all too familiar feeling of dread.  
"Aunt May? Can you come here please? I need you!" His voice was shrill, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was struggling to breath and his vision was rapidly becoming blurry with tears.  
May rushed into the room, a dressing gown haphazardly hanging from one shoulder and a frantic look spreading across her features.  
"Peter? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She had moved to sit on the edge of his bed and had placed a hand on his forehead to check for a temperature.  
"Aunt May I- I think my injections have stopped working. I-" Peter's voice caught in his throat and before she knew what was happening, May had an armful of sobbing Peter.  
"Hey, it's okay baby. We'll be okay. We can go to the doctor and see what's going on okay? Just calm down. It's okay." She shushed the small boy and held him close, attempting to comfort him.

Her heart stopped when Peter spoke again.

"I'll never be an actual boy." His voice was broken, dejected. "I'll never be a boy." His crying worsened and aunt May could only hold him closer, promising that he was a real boy, telling him that we were just as valid as any other man.

Peter had cleaned himself up and gotten ready for school, despite May's protests that he should stay home, and headed off to catch the bus. He was tripped almost immediately after boarding the bus, falling flat on his face, and wishing the floor would just swallow him up.  
He found his spot at the back corner and sat down, wishing he had stayed in bed, wishing he didn't have a stupid Spanish test today. He put his headphones in and attempted to ignore the rest of the world.

Upon his arrival at school, he was met with none other than Flash Thomson leaning against his locker. Not an unusual occurrence but he was sick of the constant early morning conflicts. He made a move to open his locker and was instantly ripped away from the wall of lockers and threw him to the ground, catching the attention of a few students milling about.

"Hey Penis Parker, where's my Spanish paper?" Flash had been using Peter to do his Spanish homework for years.  
Peter reached into his bag and pulled out a three-page essay, handing it to the other boy with a defeated sigh.  
"This had better be an 'A' quality essay Parker, or I'm gonna knock your fucking teeth in." He delivered a swift kick to Peter's stomach and walked away, smirking in satisfaction.

Peter stood up slowly, his breathing erratic. Ned moved over quickly to help him, knowing that with the binder on, Peter was suffering a great deal more than expected. Ned helped him to his locker, gently taking Peter's books from his hands and carrying them to class for him.

At lunch, Peter was confronted by Flash, who shoved a paper at him, a large 'B-' in red pen covering the top right corner of the page. the homework he gave him the day before.  
"What the fuck is this?" Not waiting for an explanation, he pulled Peter outside, a group of his lackeys following closely, heckling and jeering.  
"When I say I want straight A's in my fucking classes I mean it Parker. This is the last fucking time I accept this bullshit you hear me? The last time!" Before Peter had a time to react, two taller boys had grabbed his arms and were holding him defenceless to an angry Flash.  
The punches came fast and hard, hitting any available spot. Peter cried out for help and attempted to free himself but was met with a harsher grip and stronger hits.

He began to cry, all but giving up on his hope that someone would help him.  
"Stop crying like a little girl Parker..." he paused and his face split into a malicious grin. "Oh wait, that's exactly what you are, isn't it? A disgusting girl who's pretending to be a boy?" The group laughed and Peter began sobbing harder, his head hanging low. Flash grabbed his chin and forced Peter to meet his eyes.  
"Go on Paige, say it. Tell us what you really are." He released Peter's face and backhanded him.

"I- I'm Peter Parker. I'm a boy." His voice was quiet, he attempted to curl into himself and hide.

Flash placed his hands-on Peter's shoulders and kneed him in the stomach.  
"Wrong answer princess." He laughed maliciously at the grunt of pain that left Peter's lips.

"I'm... I'm a girl." His voice was barely a whisper, the words felt dirty leaving his mouth.

"Louder." He continued to deliver hits and blows until Peter practically screamed.

"I'm a GIRL!" The hands holding him dropped and Flash took a step back.

"That wasn't so hard was it? Now, I expect a better quality of work next time." And with that, the group of boys was gone.

Peter staggered into the hallway, grabbing his bag from his locker, and leaving school early. He made his way to the subway before catching the train back home. May had work and wasn't expected home until after Peter finished school.

Peter reached his house and gawked at the fancy car parked out front, his neighbourhood was one of the poor ones, and cars as fancy as that don't park in their area.

He unlocked the door and trudged into the living room, dropping his back in shock when he saw aunt May talking with none other than Mr Tony Stark.

"Peter? what are you doing home so early? May asked, turning to face him. "What happened to you?" Her voice hardened into anger, fear mingling with worry in her eyes. She rushed over to him and insisted he sit down and let her tend to his injuries.

Mr Stark smiled at Peter and offered a hand to shake, which Peter took, still in awe of the man in front of him.

"What the hell happened to you, Kid?" Tony asked, glancing over at the small boy.

"Oh, nothing Mr Stark sir, just a fight at school. I'm sorry I didn't realise May would be home.... let alone have company." Peter grabbed a pillow and tugged it to his chest, blushing from embarrassment.

"I'm here to talk about my grant for the September Foundation. Your application was very impressive, and I'd be happy to take you on as an intern at Stark Industries."

Peter couldn't believe it, he had applied ages ago, he never thought that he would be successful, let alone get the internship either. And now Tony Stark was in his living room, personally delivering the news.


	2. Fire and Demise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is having an edgy day... and the cause could be the end of what family he had left.
> 
> p.s I'm sorry.

"What are you... wait- you mean I got it? I got in?" Peter was still in shock, his voice full of awe, his previous worries about school and gender almost forgotten. Tony nearly chuckled, the kid looked so lost but so excited at the same time.  
"Yes Kid, you got in. Starting Monday if you're healed up by then." He gave a wink as May walked back into the room, her arms full of first aid supplies.  
"Peter, who did this to you?" May pressed a cold pack to his facial bruising, prompting him to hold it there as she began to check over the rest of him.

Peter was grateful for her care, though a sharp pain in his lower stomach was a grim reminder of his testosterone failure. He jumped up and ran towards the bathroom, ignoring the shouts of protest from both adults. He locked the door and started the shower, stripping down and attempting to wash away the disgust and shame that enveloped him during his period and especially after his confrontation with Flash.

May stood outside the door, asking Peter if he was okay. He continued to ignore her until he was dressed in comfier clothes and feeling fresher. He opened the door and pushed past her silently, his dysphoria mingling with anxiety and causing what seemed to be a mild state of panic. He flopped onto the couch beside a startled Tony Stark, sighing and turning towards the older man.  
"So this internship, can the money I make from it go straight into an account for May?" Peter was fiddling with the hem of his jumper, afraid to look Tony in the eyes. "If that's okay with you Mr Stark sir." He added hastily, not wanting to seem ungrateful  
or rude.  
"Relax Kid, of course I can do that for you, and you can call me Tony." He gave a reassuring smile and handed Peter a business card. "I can send a car for you after school Monday and we can start then." Peter was about to agree when May spoke up from the doorway.  
"Don't even think about it." Her tone was final. "No internship until you are 100% healed." Her hard gaze met Tony's and he nodded in return.

Peter didn't think that it was fair that they were making decisions for him, he was old enough to think for himself and he wanted to start his internship as soon as he could.  
"Aunt May, I'll be fine by Monday, I swear. I can totally go to Stark Industries then. Promise." She regarded him carefully before nodding slowly.  
"You can go Monday if you're no longer in pain Sunday night."  
Everyone decided that this was a fair decision and after a few more minutes of discussion, Tony asked to speak to Peter alone, requesting they talk in his room.

"I'm sorry about the mess and uh... how small it is. We can't really afford a place with a bigger room." Peter glanced around his room, cheeks heated in embarrassment. Both the trans and the bi flag hung on his wall, his bed underneath them. His desk was cluttered with various bits of self-created technology at different stages of completion. He also had photos of himself, aunt May, uncle Ben and Ned scattered around on bookcases and on his bedside table. Overall the space was small, cluttered but still homey.  
"I think it's great kid. I like the pop of colour from your flags." The comment was nothing special, but Peter beamed at the casual acceptance that Tony displayed.  
"Oh uh... Thank you Mr Stark. Now what did you want to talk about?" He sat himself on the bed, crossing his legs and staring at the billionaire expectantly.  
"Okay Kid, I want you to know that I chose you for the internship because you were a viable candidate, a real smart man." At Peter's nod, Tony continued. "But I also wanted you to have the opportunity to work alongside me as an Avenger too." He gave Peter an intense look, his eyes boring right into the boy's soul.  
"Mr Stark, I'm just a normal kid. I can't be a hero like you." Peter was now actively avoiding the other man's gaze.  
"Cut the shit, not only do I know that you're Spiderman, I also know that you are an incredibly smart and brave person. You already are a hero." He sat beside Peter and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
"H-how do you know? Mr Stark how did you find out?" His voice was almost bordering on desperation, eyes brimming with tears.  
"Hey hey, calm down. Nobody else knows. I found out after medical records were transferred to my private hospital okay? Your aunt provided permission for us to access your records and we noticed some... strange variations in your blood samples. I locked

your file as soon as I figured it out, nobody else knows. I promise." Tony was aware that he had begun to border on rambling, but his constant words seemed to soothe Peter somewhat.

They both emerged from Peter's room after a good fifteen minutes, Peter agreed to the internship as well as training with the Avengers, he did however, rule out becoming an Avenger. He was very clear that he would be their ally, but he was not interested in joining the team and f he was to train with them, he would need to be allowed to wear his mask the entire time.  
Tony agreed to these terms and that was that.  
Peter had officially topped his list of weirdest days ever.

Peter had escorted Tony to his car, chatting excitedly about the prospect of being a Stark inter, when Tony turned to him and placed both hand on his shoulders.  
"If that Flash Thompson kid ever fucking bothers you again Peter, you call me okay?" Tony looked concerned. "Promise me?" Peter nodded speechless, how did Mr Stark know everything?  
"Yes Mr Stark, I'll let you know." Peter had his fingers crossed, he didn't want to inconvenience his new boss for childish high school drama.  
Tony nodded, satisfied with Peter's answer, and moved to get into the car. He waved goodbye as the driver pulled away from the curb, leaving a slightly star-struck Peter Parker in their wake.

The next day, Peter woke up to most of his minor bruising gone, his super-healing having taken care of them in his sleep; after showering he riffled through his clothes, finding his binder, and pulling it over his head. He pulled at it and frowned, it had become too big after nearly a year of wearing it, so he reached for his spare and pulled that one over the other one.

After getting dressed and packing his bag, he kissed aunt may goodbye and left for school. He knew he would be in trouble for skipping decathlon practice the day before, but he just couldn't face Flash, and besides, on Thursday's they had a double session anyway so he could catch up.

Peter loved Thursday's, he had all his favourite subjects and Ned would come over for dinner and they would work on his latest Lego project. Today however, Peter felt like something was different. He just couldn't quite place where his unease was coming from.  
He was extremely on edge all day, jumping at unexpected noises and barely focusing on class. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that it was going to be bad, unbelievably bad.

It wasn't until his practice after school that he saw Flash. His fear bubbled up, causing his breathing to become staggered; Ned offered him a hand and Peter leaned on him until he reached his seat.  
"Well, well, well... Hello Paige." Flash sneered, eyeing Peter's fragile appearance.  
Ned glared at Flash, his own anger rising.  
"That's not his name. His name is Peter." The protective tone took Flash by surprise, but he simply chuckled and rolled his eyes.  
"She's a girl Leeds. Everyone else can see it. Don't be so fucking dense." He began to strut over to the two of them, his demeanour threatening. "Besides, it's not like that freak can amount to anything." Peter balled his fists at his side, feeling more and more defeated by the minute.  
"Actually Flash," Ned spat out the boy's name like it was poison, "Peter has an internship at Stark Industries and he was awarded a grant as part of the September Foundation."  
Peter regretted telling Ned, if the look on Flash's face was anything to go by, this revelation had only made things worse.

Peter was saved by the arrival of their teacher, Flash was unable to further harass him for the time-being. Practice passed quickly, despite it being a double session, and soon Peter and Ned had escaped the school grounds, making their way to the subway, chatting excitedly about their newest Lego feat.

Peter's unease from earlier in the day only grew as they approached home. From the train station he could see plumes of smoke rising from the direction of his street. He ran ahead, a confused Ned following him, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his house up in flames and two paramedics wheeling a stretcher towards an ambulance. The sheet was pulled over the person's head, but Peter would recognize that jewellery anywhere. A handmade bracelet that he gave to her as a Christmas gift nearly ten years ago. The woman was aunt May.

Suddenly Flash was the least of his problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PETER BINDS WITH TWO BINDERS. DO NOT DO THIS. IT WILL HURT YOU. HE IS A HERO WITH SUPER HEALING SO HE IS NOT AS SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DAMAGE. ALWAYS BIND SAFELY AND NEVER DOUBLE BIND.


	3. Stark the Saviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is almost taken into the foster care system (very much against his will) Will Tony be able to save him?

Peter stood motionless, his face unreadable. Ned had placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and stood with him during the official questionings, they now stood in front of a police vehicle, Peter was to be taken to a social worker and placed into the foster system.  
Nothing had quite clicked for Peter yet, his mind running at a million miles per minute, not allowing himself to process the events of the afternoon.  
Peter clung to Ned when he was told they would have to separate, his friend softly removing himself and whispering encouragement, promising to visit with his mother as soon as he could.

He shivered, sitting alone in a waiting room area, his school bag clutched to his chest like a lifeline. He riffled through his bag and pulled out his phone along with Tony Stark's business card. He didn't know what he had planned but he knew he needed someone with him.  
The line run a couple of times before an android like voice answered.  
"This is Friday, Mr Stark's personal AI, how may I help you?" Her voice was soft, comforting. Tears sprung to his eyes as he was reminded of May.  
"M-my name is Peter Parker. Um… Mr Stark told me to call him if I n-need anything." Peter was unsure of where to go from there but luckily the AI seemed to have been briefed on this arrangement.  
"Mr Stark will be with you shortly." He didn't bother questioning how Tony would be able to find him, he simply hung up the phone and curled in on himself on the uncomfortable plastic chairs, sobbing quietly until he fell into a fitful sleep

Tony abandoned his meeting, shooting Pepper an apology text and asking Happy to meet him out the front of the building. He had Friday track the location of Peter's call and the fact that the origin point was the police station filled hm with unease  
The ride to the station seemed to take forever, his anxiety growing with every minute he didn't arrive to help Peter. He practically fell from the car when Happy opened the door, rushing in the most dignified manner possible.  
He found Peter alone in a waiting area, sleeping on a hard-plastic chair, tear tracks covering his freckled cheeks and the smell of smoke clinging to the air around him. Tony's mind flashed back to a news story he had heard in the car on the way over, on Peter's street, many serious injuries and one fatality. Everything began to fall into place in his mind, Peter had lost May and now he had nobody.

He carefully moved towards the fragile looking boy, kneeling, and shaking him awake. Peter woke with a start, looking around wildly before his eyes settled on Tony.  
"I'm sorry Mr Stark sir, I just didn't know who to call. I- I have nobody else." His voice was broken, a true testament to his inner torment. "You didn't have to come here. I-" he cut himself off, a gut-wrenching sob breaking free and causing him to spiral into a hysterical heap, clinging to Tony's suit jacket like he was afraid to be left alone. The billionaire simply pulled Peter into a hug, allowing him the comfort he so desperately needed.

They stayed like that or over fifteen minutes before a police officer came to greet Peter, accompanied by severe looking woman in navy pantsuit. Peter detached himself from Stark and turned to face the newcomers.  
"Paige, my name is Officer Miller, and this woman will be handling you case in regard to the foster care system." He smiled kindly before looking towards the woman, prompting her to speak. Peter flinched at the use of his dead name, momentarily forgetting that it was still his legal one.  
"My name is Jessicah McKinley, I've been assigned as your social worker." she glanced a Tony in disdain. "I see you already made a call?" She basically snarled at the man, having taken an obvious disliking to him.  
Peter nodded stiffly, sniffling, and wiping away some tears.  
"I- I don't want to go into foster care Mr Stark." Peter's eyes brimmed with tears again. "I want May, she can't really be gone. She can't be-" Peter cut himself off, unable to muster the courage to say 'dead' "Mr Stark, please." He was clinging once again to the older man.

Tony directed his attention towards the woman.  
" _Peter_  is completing and internship at Stark Industries. I would be happy to take guardianship of him until he is 18." He met her steely gaze with a fiery determination, hugging the shaking boy protectively.  
"Well Mr Stark, I'm sure your lawyers can contact my supervisors but until then Paige has to go into the system." Peter seemed to cling ever harder to Tony.  
"For your information, my name is  _Peter_  and I'm a _boy_. Also, my aunt just... just died. Can't you pretend to have a heart?" His voice was muffled by the million-dollar suit jacket, but the message still reached Jessicah. "And besides, don't I get a say? I want to stay with Mr Stark." He didn't notice the proud looks he received from the officer and from Tony, instead he buried his head back into Tony's chest.

"I'll have my lawyers at your office at 9:00 am sharp tomorrow. Until then, I'm taking the kid home." And without waiting for her protest, Tony had lifted Peter up and half carried him outside, placing him in the back of the car and ordering Happy to take them to the tower.

Peter was barely awake when they reached their destination. He stumbled into the elevator, arm looped in with Tony's, using him as a beam of support. Tony helped him into a spare bedroom and tucked him in, telling him to rest, that they could talk later.  
Tony tried to leave the room, but Peter reached for him, tugging on his sleeve.  
"I don't wanna be alone sir, 'm scared." The sleepy confession melted Tony's heart and he sat beside Peter, patting his hair softly. "She's not gon' be coming back, is she?" Tony sighed and shook his head, causing Peter to let out a shuddering sob.  
"I’m sorry kid. You don't deserve this. It'll be okay though, just sleep now." Peter nodded sleepily and closed his eyes.  
"Thank you for saving me Mr Stark." he finally allowed sleep to take over, his grip on Tony's shirt weakening.

Tony waited for about twenty minutes to make sure Peter was asleep before he got up and walked into the living area, calling Pepper, and mentally rehearsing what he would say.

"Tony? Why did you walk out on that meeting? You know how important it was!" Her voice was annoyed but they both knew that he wouldn't leave if he didn't have an exceptionally good reason.  
"Uh... The Peter Parker kid called me. His aunt died today, and he was alone at the police station. He was so scared Pep." His voice shook, betraying the emotions that he wanted to keep hidden.  
"Oh Tony, I'm sorry. Is he okay?"  
"I don't know. He's here at the tower, in a spare room. I think I'm gonna take him in, if that's okay with you?" He desperately wanted her to agree, he didn't want this to divide them.  
"Do you want me to come back to New York? I can catch the next flight back." He sighed in relief, she wasn't mad.  
"No, it's okay Pep. We'll be okay. You're due down Monday anyway. Thank you though."

They spoke for a few more minutes, mostly about Peter, before saying their goodbyes.

Suddenly Tony heard screaming from Peter's room, his heart rate shot up and he ran into the room. Peter was sitting up in bed, tears streaming down cheeks and breathing heavy.  
"Tony?" He was beside him in an instant, hugging the boy close. "She- she was  _screaming_  Mr Stark, screaming for me to h-help her and I couldn't... I couldn't  _move_. I failed her." Tony's heart broke as he attempted to comfort Peter, waiting with him until he fell back to sleep, curled up on Tony. The man didn't hesitate, staying with Peter the entire night to make sure he could be there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this at 1am. Sorry if it sucks. Please comment about any spelling errors. My keyboard sucks sometimes and keys don't press down properly so I often will have mistakes. Don't be afraid to point them out. (❤_❤)


	4. Custody and Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peter attend a meeting to discuss custody of Peter. The social worker does not like Tony, will this be a problem/

Peter's alarm went off at 7:00 am, an obnoxious and continuous blaring noise. The sound startled him awake and he ended up butting heads with Tony, who had managed to doze off only an hour before. The two of them sluggishly got up, moving to the communal dining area

Peter moved around robotically, never once answering Tony verbally. He kept his head down, sitting at the table and fiddling with his food. Tony sighed softly, moving to sit beside the grieving boy.

"Hey Pete, you uh... you don't have to go to school today." Tony cringed at his unsure tone. "Obviously if you want to, I won't stop you but... I think it's best to stay home." He was looking at Peter, who refused to look up from his untouched bowl of cereal.  
"I don't think I can go." His voice was soft, Tony barely even heard is response. "I want to stay with you." Peter looked up shyly, his eyes filled with tears once again.  
Tony nodded slowly, smiling at Peter.  
"Will you be okay with coming to see the social worker with me?" Tony knew that Peter probably should go but he didn't want to force the kid. Peter nodded, pushing how bowl away and stood up, "I need clothes and uh..." he blushed and looked away again. "I need feminine hygiene products." Tony almost laughed at the look on the poor kid's face, he quickly sobered up when he noticed how uncomfortable Peter looked.  
"Yeah of course Pete, you can borrow some of my clothes or I can like, borrow something from another Avenger." He ruffled the boy’s hair. "And I'm sure Nat or Wanda will have slipped some stuff in all my bathrooms at one point."

Almost three quarters of an hour later, Peter stood in front of a full-length mirror. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans (that were far too long) and a jumper that reached his mid-thigh. He had been given a pair of Tony's pants and a jumper stolen from  _Steve freaking Rogers_.  
"Sorry about this, none of my shirts or jacket are comfortable. I figured you would appreciate something baggy and warm." Peter smiled softly, flapping his sweater-paws.  
"It's perfect Mr Stark." He turned from the mirror and hugged Tony briefly before moving to the living space and curling himself up on the couch.

Peter turned on the television and was met with a horrific sight. A news reporter stood outside his ruined home, a solemn look on her face.  
"This is the scene of the fire, which police now suspect was deliberately lit. The surrounding properties have also been damaged, four people sustained serious injuries and we have reports of one casualty-" The woman continued to talk, the screen showing him footage of the building burning and the rubble that was left of it.  
Tony walked into the room and spotted the kid curled up, sobbing on the couch. His attention was drawn to the TV and everything suddenly made sense.  
"Friday. Shut off the main television." His moved beside Peter and rubbed his back soothingly.  
"Yes boss." The TV was shut off and the room was suddenly drowning in a silence that was only broken by the sobs and whimpers of Peter Parker.

They sat there for a good half an hour before Tiny pulled them up.  
"Happy's out the front, we gotta leave now to get to Ms McKinley by 9:00." The two of them moved silently to the car, sitting in the back seat, and waiting anxiously for the drive to be over.

They were met in the lobby by three of Tony's lawyers, Ms McKinley, and he supervisor.  
"Mr Stark, a pleasure to see you again." The look on her face was contradictory to her statement but Tony smiled anyway and shook her hand.  
"Likewise." He turned to her supervisor, "This is Peter, I'm sure you've heard of him?" Peter stood half hidden by Tony, peering at their company closely.  
"Ah yes, though I do believe there was a different name on her- his file. Sorry about that any confusion about it in the past." she smiled kindly at Peter. "You can call me Anne, I'll be overseeing Ms McKinley during your case."  
Peter nodded, his face falling back into sadness.  
"I don't want to do this." He said softly, scuffing his foot against the carpet. "I'm fifteen, surely I get a say in what happens?" He moved from his position behind Tony and stood almost defiantly. "I want to stay with Mr Stark."

The adults glanced at one another, seeming to communicate wordlessly.  
"Hey kid, why don't you wait out here for a little bit okay? We'll go into Ms McKinley's office and talk and then you can come in and discuss it with us, yeah?" Peter nodded, both very aware that his super-hearing would allow him to listen to the conversation anyway. "Thanks Pete, I'll see you soon." And with that, Peter Parker was left alone in a waiting room for the second time in twenty-four hours.

It took an awfully long time for them to reach a civil agreement, Peter had long ago tuned out their conversation, deciding that he would hear it all either way. He began wandering around the waiting room, reading a few magazines and brochures scattered around, as well as the awards scattered about the walls.  
"Mr Parker?" Anne stood in the doorway to McKinley's office. "We're ready for you now." She smiled at him and held the door as he walked inside. Peter made a move to sit at the chair beside Tony, scooting it closer to the man.  
The table in front of him was laden with documents, most of which he didn't quite understand.  
"Mr Parker, it has been decided, beyond my recommendation, that Mr Stark will be assigned as your temporary guardian. I will check in once a week for three months and if all is well, you shall be transferred into his care permanently." She glared passively at Tony before turning back to Peter. "Since the nature of Mr Stark's work is so... dangerous... we have decided to enforce certain conditions to ensure your safety." Jessicah began to order the documents, moving quickly and arranging them into piles.  
"You will not access Mr Stark's lab or weapons equipment. You will not be permitted to interact or interfere with matters relating to the Avengers..." Anne began to drone on, boring Peter. He had heard this bit before. It was the first thing that they had agreed on. "Do you accept these conditions?" Peter nodded.  
"I do, yeah. Does this mean that I can go back to the tower?" He looked up at Tony, the weight of the past day weighing on his tired features. "Please?"  
"Of course kid, I just need to sign some papers and then we can go. It will only take a minute."  
"You should be grateful Stark, if it were up to me, he wouldn't be staying with you." Jessicah sneered at the man, only to receive a harsh glare from Anne, obviously the supervisor was not impressed with her behaviour.

Peter waited patiently, playing with the sleeves of his jumper while Tony scribbled at papers. They were finished quickly, and Peter could not have been happier to leave the room, he was desperate to be out of there. Peter felt a crushing sadness, wanting nothing more than to rid himself from the drowning loneliness.

He attached himself to Stark when they stood, clinging to his arm with both hands, and stumbling alongside him. He knew that eventually he would have to face the inevitable, school, a funeral, visiting the apartment and not to mention the growing problem of his new immunity to testosterone injections.  
But for now, Peter just wanted to go home.


	5. Companionship and Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens, Peter makes a friend but he also suffers the guilt of May's death more than ever,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually like this chapter. It's not my best but I have been hella sad lately and I was also at my sister's house with no internet for a couple days so I'm sorry for bad writing and lack of updates. Feedback would be much appreciated. You can also message me anytime on my tumblr (supertransfanfics) because I'm really keen to hear your feedback, opinions, suggestions... just anything really...

The next day, Peter's attempt at blocking out the world was foiled when Tony knocked on his bedroom door.  
"Hey kid, we need to talk about a funeral for May." He stood in the doorway, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.  
Peter nodded, sitting up on the bed and inviting Tony into the room with him.  
"So, do you know what you want? What she wanted?" Tony took a seat on the desk chair, not wanting to intrude on Peter's personal space  
"Um, something s- simple. Just maybe me and Ned's family. She wasn't social but maybe some colleagues as well. You too of course Mr Stark sir. Nothing big though, small, and inexpensive. And she wants to be-" Peter paused and took a steadying breath, grounding himself. "She wants to be buried beside uncle Ben." Logically he knew that he needed to tell Tony more about the funeral plans but figured that Tony would be able to use just that information. "I can call her work though, I don't want to trouble you anymore." It looked as if the suggestion of calling May's work hurt Peter, Tony didn't want him to have to do that.  
"No no, I can do it, it's no problem at all Pete. If you want, you can make a list? I'm happy to go there myself. You don't have to do a damn thing." Peter's face flooded with relief.  
"Thank you Mr Stark. Was there something else too?" He couldn't help but notice the tension in Tony's shoulders or the unsure look on his face.  
"We probably need to go back to the house and see if anything is salvageable, school books, Spidey stuff, mementos... If you're up for it?" He refused to meet Peter's eyes, obviously not comfortable asking.  
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah of course we need to do that. Shit okay. We can go today?" Peter didn't exactly sound too excited about the idea. "Better to get it over with I guess." His voice betrayed him, cracking around the last syllable.  
"Only if you're sure that's what you want." Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a moment, Tony's gaze calculating. At Peter's nod, he stood up to leave. "Have Friday notify me when you want to leave kid." And with that he was gone, leaving Peter alone.

Peter went to his wardrobe, taking out some spare clothes that Tony had left for him, and made his way to the bathroom. His least favourite part of the day. Peter's dysphoria skyrocketed when he had to shower or get changed, he would often shower with the lights off, but Friday automatically turned them on upon entry and he didn't know if he could have her turn them off. Paired with the emotional turmoil he was currently facing, it was no surprise that Peter had curled up in the corner of the shower sobbing until the water ran cold. (A figure of speech really, Tony Stark didn't spend billions of dollars on a tower that would let water run cold that easily.) When Peter had run out of tears to cry, he stood up and finished washing himself. He stood in front of the mirror for a good ten minutes, his stretched out and dirty binder in hand. He knew that Tony could wash it, he had washed all of Peter's other clothes with no complaint, but the binder didn't even fit him anymore.

Making an irrational decision, Peter threw the binder into the laundry basket and pulled a roll of ace bandages from the medicine and first aid cabinet. He felt the familiar, breath-stealing compression and finally felt free. It was a familiar feeling, having binded with bandages and multiple sports bras for almost three months before coming out to May.  
He pulled an oversized tourist shirt on and a pair of baggy shorts. The tightness in his chest was put down to anxiety, disregarding the possibility of chest compression problems. He moved back into his room, grabbing an empty bag before calling out to Friday.  
"Hey Fri, where's Mr Stark?" Peter was wandering around the tower, opening random doors, and exploring the space.  
"Sir is currently in his lab, shall I notify him that you're ready for departure?"  
"No thanks Friday, maybe you could point me in the direction of the lab?" After being told where to go, Peter began his adventure to the lower levels.

The young boy was looking around, making his way towards the elevator on the seventh floor when he collided with someone else.  
"Oh, Mr Stark! I am so sorry! I was just-" He stopped mid-sentence. "You're not Mr Stark..." His body tensed, the god of mischief stood above him, glowering at him. Peter noticed the almost scared look in their eyes, almost as if Loki were afraid of Peter's judgment.  
"No I am not. And who are you? You are not the usual company that the Iron Man keeps around." Their voice was sharp, they didn't trust Peter.  
"I'm new, I came here like... two days ago. I read a book about you and your brother once! I did a project on the gods for a history thing! Is it true that like... gods don't have genders? Because that's so awesome!" Loki was stunned, this small ball of energy cared about their gender?  
"Well, technically speaking most deities are divided into gods and goddesses, very gender specific roles, but I do not affiliate with such gendered terms. My identity varies. I do consider myself a god but some days I... lean more towards femininity and some days I am masculine. I do, however, send a lot of time in between." They shifted awkwardly, no Midgardian had ever asked about their identity.  
"So you're genderfluid? That's so cool! I'm Peter and I'm a trans boy so I kind of get what it's like! What are your pronouns for today?" Peter seemed to forget his worries, enraptured with the god who could understand his struggle.  
"Uh, today I'm in the middle, so it's a 'they day' as Thor calls it." He paused briefly to look at the kid, he seemed so excited. "Thank you for caring child." He was then drawn into a lengthy discussion about gender and Midgard customs regarding identity.

Tony Stark left his lab and took the elevator to the seventh floor, Friday informing him that Peter was currently hanging out there.  
The sight that greeted him was not one that would be soon forgotten. Peter Parker was hanging upside on the ceiling, casually discussing bathroom laws to Loki, the god of mischief.  
"-and at my school they don't want me to use the boys bathroom and I refused to use the female bathrooms, because I'm a guy obviously, so they make me use the staff bathroom in the office and- Oh hi Mr Stark!" He dropped from the roof with an elegant flip and landed at Tony's feet. "I was just looking for you when I ran into Loki. Did you know that they can like..." he made vague motions with his hands, "do real magic?" Loki chuckled and stood from the couch.  
"I should be heading back, Thor has asked me to collect some items for him." And with that, Loki had vanished, teleporting away to wherever they were needed.

"Peter, how long was Loki here for?" Tony turned back to the kid, a stunned look on his face that almost caused Peter to giggle.  
"Uh... we were talking for like thirty minutes or something? Friday will know for sure." Peter shrugged the man's question off. "Can we go to the apartment now? I kind of want to get this over with." He walked past Tony and into the elevator, his happy demeanour diminishing right before the older man's eyes. Tony was quick to follow, instructing Friday to contact Happy about their impending departure.

Peter clutched at Tony's hand for the entire drive, his other hand stuffed into a pocket, trying to hide his shaking. Tony, who usually didn't even let Pepper hold his hand, welcomed the touch, doing his best to comfort the boy without overstepping. Peter's shoulders tensed as soon as Happy stopped the car, trepidation filling his very being.  
There was a lot of surface level damage to the building, but Tony had previously ensured that it was safe to enter, not taking any risks with Peter. The boy walked in the front door, finding it hard to breath in his makeshift binder. His eyes were flitting from place to place, like he was unable to focus on just one thing. He ran his hand across various pieces of furniture, slowly making his was towards his bedroom, not ready to face May's room.

Peter was a man on a mission, it almost seemed as if none of his possessions had made it, apart from a backpack protected by layers of singed spiderweb. Peter tugged at the web until it basically disintegrated, leaving behind a slightly charred bag that contained a handmade spider suit and some gadgets, web shooters and prototypes. He swung the straps over his shoulders before moving to a chest of drawers, praying that at least some of his clothes had made it.

After retrieving a minimum amount of clothes from his room, Peter made his way to aunt May's door. Peter found a photo of them on his first day of high school; the glass was cracked right down the middle, obscuring May's face from view. Peter carefully removed the picture from the frame and held it to his chest, slumping to the ground as tears filled his eyes, his whole body wracked with sobs.  
"I'm sorry May. I should have been there I- I'm so sorry, I couldn't protect you." His voice was barely audible, even to Tony who stood less than a meter from him.  
"You couldn't have saved her, Kid. I know what you're feeling-" He was cut off by a loud cry from Peter.  
"No you don't! Both of my parents were killed when I was a child, my uncle was murdered because of me and my aunt died. I couldn't save them! Do you know what it's like to have everyone you love taken away? I have nothing left Mr Stark, nothing." His voice cracked at the end, volume lowering until he was speaking barely above a whisper. Tony kneeled beside Peter and helped him up.  
"It was not your fault, you hear me? You couldn't have saved them Peter." He had pulled Peter into a tight embrace, the boy sobbing into his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry Mr Stark. I'm so sorry." The boy allowed Tony to drag him from the room, picture still clutched in his hands, and into the living room. They sat on a less damaged arm-chair, Tony making futile attempts to comfort Peter.


	6. Happiness is Temporary.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (This is over 2,000 words and I wrote most of it at 3:am so please don't be harsh lmao) Things go kind of good, then kind of bad... then really good! And then super bad.  
> Also more Loki bc I'm a sucker for genderfluid!Loki and platonic Loki and Peter.

 

\

"I'm sorry I'm like this. I don't mean to be a burden." Tony jumped, having thought that Peter was asleep. "You shouldn't have to deal with me." He stood up, removing himself from the armchair and picking up his bag.  
"Don't you dare say that, you're an amazing kid. I really enjoy having you around, and your feelings are completely valid, you've been through a lot." Tony stood and slung an arm around Peter, trying to ease his insecurities.  
"No really, I shouldn't be like this. It isn't really manly is it?" Peter chuckled softly, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Boys aren't supposed to cry." Peter shrugged, moving away from Tony.  
"Peter that is bullshit." The young boy looked startled at these harsh words. "Boys can fucking cry. Cis boys can cry, trans boys can cry. Shit, I cry all the fucking time. Every single person can cry. You are a valid man no matter what, don't let yourself be constricted by the ideals of toxic masculinity. You can have emotions. This is healthy." Tony wasn't looking at Peter anymore, instead he was walking towards the exit.

On the way back to the tower Peter thought a lot about what Tony had said, his rational brain understanding that the concept of gender is flawed, and stereotypes were invalidating and cruel, but he also knew that to be taken seriously as a man in current society, he had to fulfil some of those expectations for men. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the increased pressure on his chest until it was almost impossible to breathe, flopped upside down on the Avengers' couch, watching the news, Peter Parker passed out.

Tony had been working on a new suit for Peter, his lab was basically on 'do not disturb' mode, preferring to work without disruptions.  
"Sir, there's an emergency." Friday's voice cut off the loud rock music, capturing Tony's attention. "Mr Parker seems to have passed out in the common room. However, m-" Tony was running out of the lab before Friday could finish her sentence.  
He was at the lounge area in record time, but Peter seemed to already be in good hands.  
Ms Pepper Potts sat on the floor, Peter leaning against her with a glass of water in his hands. The two of them looked up as Tony entered, Peter looked ashamed, not wanting to meet the eyes of his guardian.  
"Guess you were too slow Tony." Pepper smiled softly, attempting to ease the tension.  
"The old man is always slow without his suit." It was in that moment that Tony noticed the god of mischief sitting on the couch. "I mean, you did not even know that your intended was in your home." Loki smirked, swiftly moving to where Peter sat and sweeping him into their arms. "Now if you will excuse me, I believe the spiderling needs my help in particular." And with that, they both disappeared into a bathroom.

Loki sat Peter on the toilet and kneeled in front of him.  
"Hey little spider, I need to take your bindings off okay? I am terribly sorry." And so, Loki's hand reached under his shirt and began to unwind the bandages.  
"No- Loki don't... I need those-" Peter protested weakly, already feeling better, already able to breathe easier. "I'm so sorry." He whimpered as Loki balled up the bandages and tossed them in a drawer.  
"Do not be sorry little spider, I understand what it is like. Before I could control my power of transformation, I would often get stuck in a body that wasn't me. I understand what you were trying to do, but you need to do it safely." Peter nodded, throwing his arms around Loki, hugging his newfound friend.  
"Thank you Loki. I know I shouldn't do that but... I just... I can't stand living in a body that is so wrong, you know?" He tried to stand, leaning on Loki for support.  
"I know spiderling, but your safety is the most important yes? How can you finish this work in progress if you destroy your body and any chance of overcoming these struggles?" Loki shrugged of their cape-like cloak, wrapping it around Peter's shoulders to make him more comfortable. The two of them slowly made their way back to Pepper and Tony, taking comfort in their shared experiences.

Pepper helped Peter to sit on the couch, once again prompting him to sip at a glass of water. Tony and Loki stood a little bit away from there, discussing what had happened.  
"The little spider needs chest binders. He cannot continue like this; the consequences could easily be fatal. Stark, you need to help him." Loki sounded worried.  
"I am trying to help him. Don't you dare come in here and suggest I am not doing my damndest to ensure his best life." Tony was angry, he was offended that Loki couldn't see what he had done for Peter.  
"I'm not suggesting that you've been bad to Peter, I'm simply saying that he is going through something you can't understand. He needs support from other people who experience what he does or have experienced it." Loki was calm, the opposite of the fuming Stark in front of them.

Peter was sipping on his water, chatting with Pepper about random things.  
"So how's school? You go to Midtown, right?" She didn't ask about why she had found him passed out on the floor, instead sticking to generic topics.  
"Oh well... It's been okay? I haven’t gone i- in a few days. With everything going on I- I just can't quite do it." He shrugged, smiling at Pepper, and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Should probably get back to it huh?" his voice had a cold, empty undertone, one that was thinly veiled by humour.  
"Well yes, school is important but so are you. Sometimes you just need to step away, deal with what's going on for you. School is not the be all and end all, you're allowed to prioritise yourself every so often." While he did think Pepper had a point, he also knew that his grades couldn't handle much more of his truancy.

Loki moved away from Tony, making their way to stand beside Peter's seated form.  
"Keep in mind what we discussed little spider. If you need me, I will always be there for you, never forget that. Take care of yourself, I want no more incidents like today, understand?" And without even collecting their garment from Peter's shoulders, they had disappeared.  
"Loki is so cool!" The young boy beamed up at Tony, who was wildly unimpressed by the god.  
Tony still did not trust Loki, not after New York, but he did know that the Asgardian cared about Peter. (Plus, Thor was adamant that Loki was somewhat possessed and not in full control of his actions, Tony mostly trusted Thor.)  
"I'm just glad that Pep was here to save you." Tony leaned down and kissed Pepper on the cheek. "She's the real hero of this tower, a hero who always seems to arrive earlier than expected, always in time when it really counts." His voice carried fondness, his love for Pepper shining through.  
"Well I always have been very good at handling Stark problems, that's why I'm the CEO and you're the figurehead." Pepper seemed unaffected by his words, meanwhile Peter was positively beaming, enjoying the interaction between the two.  
It was these moments that Peter Parker decided he was going to cherish, moments where everyone was happy. He wanted to believe that he deserved to be happy, and he really did try to believe it.

That night at dinner, he made another decision, one that would probably lead to more emotional turmoil, but it was one that had to be made.  
"Mr Stark, I want to go back to school tomorrow. I know it's not been exceedingly long since-" he bit his lip, unsure how to say it. "I just think it's time. I can't hide away forever." He twirled the fettuccine around his fork, seeming extremely interested in the pasta, rather than looking his guardian in the eyes.  
"Well if you're sure. We can arrange Happy to take you and... Ned was it?" Peter nodded, smiling at the thought of seeing Ned again, they had hardly spoken for days and he really missed his best friend. "Happy can take you and Ned to school tomorrow morning, and he'll pick you up after school." Tony reached over and gave Peter's arm a small shove. "I'm really proud of you kid, not a lot of people are as strong as you."  
"Well I mean... I am Spiderman, that gives me a certain strength advantage." Both men chuckled at his joke, Pepper rolled her eyes, smiling fondly at their antics.  
"Yeah, well Spiderman had better get eating, young men need to eat to get stronger." Pepper scolded him playfully, motioning to his almost full plate.  
The rest of the night passed in relative peace, Peter going to bed with a smile on his face, hardly worried about his first day back at school.

When Peter rocked up at Ned's house the next morning, school bag slung over his shoulder and fancy as fuck car behind him, Ned very much freaked out. The two boys hugged for almost a full minute before Ned moved to appreciate the car.  
"Hey Peter, we gotta go if you want to be on time." Happy stuck his head out the window, seeming annoyed at their excited behaviour that early in the morning.  
"Sorry Happy!" Peter checked the time on his phone. "Shit you're right, come on Ned! Time to haul ass." Both boys slid into the backseat, Ned attempting to catch Peter up on all the gossip he missed.  
"Oh by the way, you can't like... say anything about Mr Stark being my guardian okay? I'm just his intern yeah?" Peter stared Ned down, attempting to look intimidating. They had just pulled up the block before the school, not wanting to arouse suspicion.  
"Yeah, that's cool. I can totally do that. No problem." They thanked Happy and got out of the car, walking the block to school. "Am I allowed at the tower? Like can we still hang out?" Ned seemed worried, not wanting to have to limit contact with his best and only friend.  
"I have to ask Mr Stark but if not, you bet your ass I'm hanging at your place whenever I can." Peter nudged their shoulders together, smiling at his friend as they arrived at the school entrance. "I promise nothing will change... except maybe cooler tech for gaming." They laughed and wandered to the lockers, preparing for the day.

"Penis Parker! You're back! I missed you, I heard your aunt died, I'm sure she's happy to be away from you, you are a fucking freak." Flash stood at the end of the corridor, catching the attention of all students in the general vicinity.  
Peter stiffened, a feeling of guilt washing over him, he didn't notice when a tall boy slammed him against the locker and allowed Flash to hit him. All he could think about was that maybe Flash was right, maybe May was happy to be away from him. He hardly felt the malicious attack, too focused on his spiral of self-loathing.  
Peter was left on the ground, bruised and probably bloody, until the shrill sound of the warning bell snapped him into action. He stood, pulling out the books he needed from his bag and stashing his stuff in his locker, and walking to meet Ned outside of homeroom.  
Ned didn't ask any questions, he simply pulled a tissue from his pocket and began to wipe at the blood from a split lip, eyes scanning for serious injury.  
"I'm sorry Ned." Peter hunched over, attempting to make himself smaller, and followed his friend into the classroom, sitting at the back and cursing himself for thinking that coming back to school was a promising idea.  
Everything hurt, and he really didn't want to have to explain to Mr Stark that he was too weak to defend himself.


	7. A Million Times Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically angsty and then fluffy with the introduction of some new Avengers into Peter's life. Loki is a Concerned Friend™ and Tony is an angry d̶a̶d̶ guardian and Happy saves the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had like no classes today (3 free periods and 2 subs) so y'all get a long ass chapter fueled by sleep deprivation and sadness. Enjoy!

Peter hid in the back corners of classrooms, avoiding the gazes of curious teachers and doing his best to seem unfazed by the bruising rapidly forming across his face. Ned stuck close by him all day, not wanting to risk the repercussions of leaving Peter alone. He was concerned for Peter but knew that his friend would resent him if he decided to report the violent attacks. All Ned could do was be there for Peter, show him that people do care about him.  
Peter appreciated Ned's attempts to comfort him, but deep down he thought he deserved what he got, in fact he thought he deserved a lot worse. Peter couldn't stop himself from replaying Flash's words, that May was glad that she was away from him and had drawn the conclusion that Ben was also glad to be free of him. His self-deprecating thoughts began to spiral, leading him to the conclusion that both Ned and Tony were going to leave him next, that nobody wanted to be around the freak. He couldn't really blame them though, he didn't exactly want to be around himself either.

During lunch Peter was hit by the realisation that Happy would be picking him up from school and taking him to the tower, that he and Tony would see the evidence of Peter's pathetic weakness. He pulled out his phone, shooting Happy a quick text that he wanted to catch the train home with Ned, not wanting the head of security at Stark Industries to see how much of a failure he was.

HH: _No way kid, direct orders from the Boss to pick up you and your friend._

PP: **Well tell Mr Stark that I used to take the Train with Ned every day, I don't want a ride.**

HH:  _Sorry kid._

**~~I'm not a little kid Hap~~ **

**~~He probably doesn't even c~~ **

PP:  **I'm doing it anyway.**

Peter knew it was stupid to tell Happy that he was going to take the train despite Tony's orders, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was just on edge and felt almost betrayed that they didn't trust him enough to let him make his own way home. He spent the rest of his day brooding, worrying Ned further.

By the end of the day, Peter had sent emails to all of his extracurricular groups, telling them that he no longer wished to participate in their activities, that he no longer had time.  
Flash cornered him at his locker after school.  
"Parker, I heard you quit decathlon, why, you afraid to lose to me?" Flash had a wicked grin, obviously proud of his supposed superiority.  
"No. I have an internship that means I need to be available after school." He never really replied to Flash, but for some reason he had lost all sense of self-preservation. "Also, we're on the  _same team_. Nobody beats anybody. We win together, we lose together." He rolled his eyes, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.  
"Who'd be stupid enough to let you intern for them? Nobody wants a tranny like you around them." He sneered, face morphing into something Peter had learned to fear a long time ago.  
"Peter has an internship with Tony Stark." Ned spoke up from beside Peter, staring Flash down. "He has a driver from Stark Industries waiting outside to take him to the tower." Sometimes Peter wished his best friend would just  _shut the fuck up_.  
"You? Interning for Stark? How did you beat me out for that? My application was fucking written by you! You're dead, Parker. So dead." Peter ducked under Flash's punch, grabbing Ned’s arm, and making a dash for the front entrance. They could hear pounding footsteps following them, obviously a group of truly angry Flash lackeys.

They burst through the front doors, Peter practically dragging Ned to where Happy was standing, waiting beside an expensive looking black car.  
"Thought you were sneaking off to the train kid?" Happy raised an eyebrow, a trace of mockery in his voice as it carried across the front of the school.  
"I'm gonna fucking kill you Parker!" Flash's voice was fast approaching, Peter was about five metres away from the security guard when a hand clasped around his arm. Flash leaned down, whispering to in his ear. "Got you." Peter froze, shooting Happy a helpless look.  
Flash attempted to pull Peter away, his grip tight and unforgiving. Ned had fallen as Peter was dragged away from him, and he stood useless as Peter attempted to get away.  
Happy moved quickly, and before any of them could do anything, Peter was behind a very pissed off Happy Hogan and Flash was on the ground.  
"Don't touch the kid." Ned and Peter scurried to the car, not wanting to witness the confrontation. Happy glared at Flash, crossing his arms. “If you ever touch him again, you'll regret it." He could hardly stand the sight of the kid in front of him, having heard from Tony about the bullying situation.  
"Are you threatening me? I'll have you sued! You can't do this." Flash was outraged, back on his feet but still looking comically insignificant compared to the looming anger of one Happy Hogan.  
Instead of responding, he moved away, got into the car, and began to drive. He wanted to ask the boys in the backseat if they were okay but wasn't sure if it was his place to do so. Ned had an arm wrapped around Peter, talking softly to the boy. The driver didn't want to interrupt their moment. He simply drove until he arrived at Ned's house, pulling into the driveway, and waiting for the boy to get out of the car.

Ned watched the car drive away, finding comfort in the fact that Happy was there for his friend. He really didn't want to think about what could have happened if the man hadn't already been waiting for them.

Peter sniffled, wiping his eyes. He hadn't said a word to Happy during the car ride and now he stood beside him in the elevator, heading for the penthouse. He had pulled the hood of his jumper of his head, ashamed of his bruises. As the elevator doors slid open, he looked down, fiddling with the sleeves of his jumper, and avoiding the calculating gaze of Tony from the couch. He shuffled to his bedroom, ignoring his guardian's request to join him on the couch, instead flopping onto the bed and requesting that Friday lock his bedroom door.  
Rationally he knew that Tony could easily override the order, but hoped that Tony respected him enough not to. Peter sighed loudly before shoving his face into a pillow and screaming, concerning Tony who stood just outside the door, poised to knock.  
"Pete? Can I come in? We need to talk." He was hesitant, not wanting to upset the boy further.  
"Go  _away_! Just go away, leave me alone!" Peter's voice was broken, he sounded resigned and defeated.  
"I can't do that kid, I care about you and we need to talk."  
"You don't care. Nobody cares!" Tony was startled by the accusation, not understanding what he had done that would make Peter draw that conclusion.  
"Pete that's not true. Please let me in, we can talk about this." He was ready to give the order to Friday, ready to violate the privacy of the kid by unlocking the door, when Peter opened it, his cheeks puffy and flushed, with tear tracks running down them. "Oh Peter, I'm so sorry." Tony pulled him into a hug, leading them into Peter's room and positioning himself on the armchair.  
"Mr Stark, I'm sorry I- I'm so weak. I can't even protect myself from..." He trailed off, letting out a small sob. "I don't mean to be a burden." Peter rested his head in the crook of Tony's neck, clutching at his shirt as if he was afraid that Tony would disappear.  
"Oh Petey, You're not a burden. Flash is just an asshole. You don't deserve to be treated like that and I will do everything in my power to make sure he never lays a hand on you again." Peter nodded, snuggling into Tony further.  
"He is right about some things though Mr Stark. I really am just a freak and a- and a..." He paused, taking a breath. "a t-tranny." His voice lowered until it was barely a whisper.  
"No." Tony's grip on Peter tightened. "You are not a freak. You are just a young boy who is living his honest life. Also, you're the Amazing fucking Spiderman." Peter giggled, a wonderful sound. "You can do anything." Tony reassured the young boy.  
"But I'm nothing without my suit. Without Spiderman, I'm nothing."  
"No, without Spider man you're kick-ass Peter Parker, the best damn kid in the country. You're smart, talented, competitive, fucking great a Mario Kart and a million times better than that Flash Thompson kid." Tony moved Peter so that the boy could see his face. "I really do care about you, so does Ned and Happy and hell kid, even Loki the resident goth likes you. You are just so amazing. May did an amazing job raising you, she would be so proud of you." Peter sniffled, smiling up at Tony.  
"Thanks d- Mr Stark." He jumped up from where he was sitting, turning back to face Tony. "I know you have work to be doing, quit using me as your procrastination excuse!" He cracked a cheesy grin before walking out of the room, deciding it was time to properly explore the tower.

He was wandering around, holding a conversation with Friday about her programming when he discovered the gym. Peter literally squealed in excitement, (Friday sent a security camera recording of it to Tony) and ran into the gym. He loved to test his limits but felt weird about showing off at school. He was always bad at sport before Spiderman, so he didn't want to use his abilities unfairly.  
He stripped off his jumper, leaving him in a shirt and jean, and began to run warm-up laps.  
"Not the best ensemble for exercising little spider." Loki's voice startled Peter, causing him to stumble. "Let me try for something... more fitting." And suddenly Peter was in jogging shorts and a baggier shirt, his old binder replaced by a sports bra. "We mustn’t work out in such dangerous garments. In fact, I forbid it entirely." Peter went to thank Loki, but he was gone, and Peter was alone again.

He continued to work out, running laps before moving onto sit-ups, push-ups, burpees, squats, chin-ups, and a range of other activities. He soon got bored, wiping the sweat from his brow, he picked up a punching bag, setting it on the hook and beginning a sequence of attacks. He didn't realise ow much time had passed, too caught up in his own mind.  
He was so in the zone that he didn't notice his small audience, not until he kicked the bag and sent it flying from the hook, effectively breaking it.  
"Shit kid, you're pretty strong." He froze at the voice, turning to face none other than Captain America, flanked by one Black Widow and one Winter Soldier.  
"Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that!" Peter began to look around wildly, as if he was looking for an escape route. "Please don't tell Mr Stark that I broke that." He became panicked, desperate not to anger his guardian.  
"Oh no, we definitely have to tell Tony." Natasha spoke up, smirking at the kid. "He'll be impressed. Those bags were designed for Cap, they're more durable than regular old punching bags." She walked towards him, circling him slowly and studying him.  
"Yeah but I usually break 'em quicker anyway, much quicker than that. Still a good effort." He moved to Peter and clapped him on the back, smiling proudly.  
Bucky Barnes had yet to move from the doorway.  
"Kid who hits like that? How'd you get those bruises?" He seemed sceptical, eyeing Peter like he might explode.  
"I uh... I get beat up a lot. People don't like me much." He shrugged, blushing at all the attention.  
"Yeah but if you can fight like that, why'd you let them beat you so bad?" Buck seemed cold, he didn't trust Peter.  
"Because if I use my abilities to hurt them, then I'm no better than the bad guys. Better me who has super-healing and an incredibly high pain tolerance than some poor kid who can't stand to take a hit like I can." Peter stood tall, defiant under the scrutiny.  
Buck turned to Steve, smiling slightly.  
"I like him."  
Peter's Spidey-senses suddenly went off, causing him to jump up, sticking upside down to the roof. Natasha had attempted to take him by surprise, swinging a practice bat at him from behind.  
"Why would you do that?!" He cried from the roof, dropping himself back down and crossing his arms angrily. "That was so rude." He huffed, glaring at Nat.  
"Wanted to test Spiderman's super reflexes. Tell you what kid, you don't disappoint." She smirked, ruffling his hair. "Good work little spider."  
Peter's glare hardened, ducking away from her hand.  
"You're not allowed to call me that." He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he didn't really care.  
Nat held her hands up in surrender, backing away.  
"Well, we need the gym to train. We were going to spar. You can join if you'd like or keep working on your own." It was Steve who spoke, putting himself between Peter and Nat.  
Peter thought for a moment, Tony would probably be mad if he sparred with the Avengers, but he really wanted to, plus he could act independently of his guardian.  
"Okay, sure. I'll join. Do I get to use my web shooters?"


	8. That's the T(ea)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... Something finally happens about Peter's Testosterone issue.  
> Warning: Tony does out Peter without permission but it is dealt with!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for being away. My life has been a mess but I'm back. Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. I love you guys so much and your comments literally made me cry because you're all so supportive! I hope you enjoy this chapter even though it is kind of short.

Tony Stark walked into what was possibly the funniest thing he had ever seen, Captain America and the Winter Soldier had been webbed together, Black Widow was staring up at the ceiling, and Peter Parker was dangling just out of her reach, smiling and waving at Tony when he arrived.

“Hey Mr Stark. Sorry I disappeared.” He grinned widely before doing a weird somersault/front flip onto the ground. “I was invited to train with these guys! Isn’t that cool?”

Oblivious to the silent assassin behind him, Peter was talking incessantly to Tony about his ‘training’ session. “-and then Mr Winter Soldier was all like ‘I could beat you with my eyes closed’ and I was like ‘oh yeah?’ and then with my web shooters I was like ‘pew pew pew’ and he was like ‘ahhhh’ and then I webbed him to Mr Steve and then-” he was suddenly cut off by Natasha pouncing on him, bringing him down and trapping him underneath her.

“Never turn your back on the enemy Spider-baby, not even in training.” Tony snorted and rolled his eyes, giving Peter a sympathetic smile.

“Hey! That’s no fair Nat.” Peter whined, pouting softly.

“Hey Pete, can you come into the lab with me please? I need your help with something and there’s someone I want you to meet.” He smiled fondly as the small by easily removed himself from Natasha’s grip to stand by his side.

“Who is it? Do I know them? Stupid question if you’re introducing them to me… Do I know of them? Are they cool? Is it another god like Loki? Are they in the lab?” Peter’s various question went unanswered as he followed his guardian down to the elevator, watching eagerly as the code was entered to allow them to travel all the way down to the private labs.

Peter looked around in awe when they stopped, internally freaking out at all the tech and experiments that he could see. He hand subconsciously went to his home-made web shooters, feeling insecure about the primitive nature of his suit technology.

“Woah! Is that a new Iron Man suit design?” Peter ran up to the lump of red wires on one of the many desks and picked it up, lookin at the screen with the digital design, his heart skipping a beat when he saw his Spiderman logo on the chest.

“Mr Stark, what is this? Why do you have a Spider suit in here?” He was afraid of Tony’s response, was his suit not good enough? He had spent months trying to make it work properly.

“Well kid, I decided that you needed a more high tech, safer suit. It will be linked to Friday and you’ll have your own A.I too, one you can name yourself if you want. It will be somewhat shock absorbant and things like that too. I mean… if you want?” Tony tried to look cool, leaning against a desk and crossing his arms, but his eyes betrayed how nervous he was.

“You did this for me? You- Mr Stark you didn’t have to do something like this.” Peter smiled up at his guardian, shock and gratitude clearly written across his features.

 

“Tony, is that you?” A curious voice was heard from behind a mound of metal and wires, Peter turned to the source of the voice and stopped dead.

“Oh my god you're-” Peter's exclamation was cut off by a tired and resigned sigh.

“Yes. I'm the hulk.” Bruce Banner looked worn out, his eyes were darkened by heavy bags and his clothes were wrinkled, like he had slept in them.

“Hulk? No you're one of the most influential scientists of our time! I did a project on you and you're research just last month. We have a picture of you on our ‘greatest scientists’ wall in my classroom.” He smiled, clearly in awe of the man standing in front of him, oblivious to the shocked look on Banner’s face.

“Tony, where did you find this kid?” Bruce was openly staring at Peter, his voice strained.

“Hey Bruce. This is Peter, I'm kind of his legal guardian for now. He's also Spiderman so there's that too.” Tony shrugged, though it was obvious to his scientific companion that he was proud to be Peter's guardian.

“Wait, why am I here? I thought you needed my help with something?” The young boy looked confused, glancing between the two men. “Is this who you wanted me to meet?” Peter looked up at Tony, still clearly very confused.

“Well kid, you know how you’re um… trans?” Peter winced, not comfortable with being outed, especially not to one of his idols after just meeting them.

“Uh, yeah. What about it?” He crossed his arms and his confused pout turned into a betrayed sneer. It broke Tony’s heart to see such a look of mistrust on his kid’s face. Peter had turned from Bruce, missing the fleeting look of shock that crossed the man’s face.

“Hey, Peter you don’t have to be ashamed. Tony isn’t trying to hurt you.” Successfully gaining back the kid’s attention, Bruce continued. “He told me before, but he means well, he wants my help. I- well shit kid, you did a research project on me. I’m sure you must have read it somewhere, I’m trans too.” Bruce knew that he wouldn’t have read it anywhere online, Bruce was always very careful about not outing himself, but normalising it seemed to be the way to go. “Tony asked for my help in regards to binding and testosterone. He’s just looking out for you.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his head and smiled softly.

“Oh. I- Thank you Mr Stark. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions but- well you can’t do that anymore. You have to talk to me _before_ you tell anyone. I need to trust you and what you did puts my safety at risk and it’s not okay.” He paused, face scrunching in thought. “I appreciate the sentiment but if you do that again, I won’t forgive you.” Peter folded his arms and gave Tony a hard glare. “Understand?”

Tony nodded in confirmation, feeling guilty for his assumption that it was an okay thing to do.

“I’m sorry Pete, it won’t happen again. I’m sorry I did it in the first place. Thank you for understanding.” He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. “But I do think that Dr Banner can help you.” He smiled weakly, gesturing to the doctor.

“Tony mention that some of the usual effects of testosterone have reversed?” Peter nodded weakly, hand moving to his abdomen reflexively. “That happened to me when I had my uh… ‘Hulk Incident’ and I developed a different serum that works just like T but for people with advanced metabolism or other types of powers that can burn off meds quicker.” Peter’s eyes widened, heart pounding in his ears.

“You can help me? For real?” He blinked away tears as Bruce nodded.

“We might need to tweak the formula for you, but we should have it ready within a month or two.” Dr Banner smiled softly at the kid, knowing exactly what he was feeling. Peter acted without thinking and rushed the the doctor, hugging him tightly and whispering variations ‘thank you’ on a loop.

Tony smiled softly at the sight, Bruce was awkwardly patting Peter’s back, looking down fondly at the boy, and Peter was just smooshed against Bruce. He made a mental note to have Friday send him a photo of the embrace from at least three angles.

“We can get started whenever you want, I’m more than happy to go right now or we can wait-” Bruce had pulled himself away from the Spider’s grasp and had placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders.

“No!” Peter cut him off, “We can’t wait. I can’t. Please, Dr Banner you have to help me. I want to start now.” He suddenly looked desperate, he was scared that they would retract the offer if he said ‘later’.

“Okay kid, we start now.” Tony soothed him, rubbing a hand across his back. “We’ll just collect what we need and then we can go. Is that okay?” At Peter’s nod, he moved to get what they needed, Bruce following him to double check the equipment and formula sheets were in fact, the correct ones.

Peter smiled to himself, things were finally going right.

 

 

But for how long?


	9. A problem solved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> re-uploading because I completely forgot that Peter had already met Stucky???? Me? An idiot? More likely than u think. Pls enjoy. Get ready for some irregular updates lmao.  
> Love you guys (kind of, except I don't know you at all.)  
> -Spencer.

Peter had been working tirelessly at the testosterone formula, every spare moment he had he was in the labs, to the point where Tony had to change Friday’s security programme, banning his s- banning Peter from entering alone and from having any access between 10:00pm and 6:00am. They had run two controlled tests but to no avail, Peter’s results had come back with little to no changes, causing his great distress.

 

Tony was concerned about Peter’s grades dropping. He had received two emails from one Ms McKinley detailing complaints from teachers about Peter’s disinterest and lack of effort in classes. He knew that something had to be done but was lost about how to bring up the subject.

At least, he was lost until Loki showed up. The deity seemed to be the only person who could lure Peter away from his incessant and borderline obsessive researching. Tony returned from a particularly draining meeting, one that he hadn’t paid much attention too, only to find Peter studying with Loki beside him at the dining table. It looked as if Peter was attempting to explain his work to Loki, who’s attention was solely on the boy.

“And then I divide the number we just got in the first part, so we can work on the second part of the question. I didn’t get taught how to do this because I missed like a week of classes, but Ned’s been sending me his notes, MJ too. I’m not as far behind as I could be so that’s good.” Loki hummed in agreement, inspecting the numbers. Peter suddenly looked up, smiling at Tony.

The man just waved and moved to get changed, wanting nothing more than to be out of the ridiculously uncomfortable suit.

“Oh! Mr Stark! Um, are you the person who is supposed to sign permission slips for school? I have an excursion form and I really don’t know what to do with it. Um, yeah… if you’re too busy I can totally understand. But the excursion is only two weeks away... Apparently is was super last minute with the approval and everything. So, do I give it to you?” Peter finished lamely, blushing.

“Yeah kid, I’ll always have time for you. And yeah, I am the one who has to sign it. Bring it down to the lab after you’ve finished your homework and I can sign it before we get to work on our new formula plans. Sound okay?” Peter agreed, turning back to Loki before another thought struck him.

“Um… if it’s okay with you Mr stark, could I maybe do some intern things after school? I know we talked about me getting an internship and everything and I think it could really help me. Ms Loki says that meeting new people could be good for me. And, I think it would be really cool to see how Stark Industries works. I promise I’ll still get all my homework done and everything.” He paused, biting his lip. “If that’s okay with you sir, I mean, I think it would be a good opportunity.” He looked to Loki, unsure of himself. The goddess smiled encouragingly, before both moved their attention to Tony.

“Yeah Pete, if that’s what you want. I’ll have Happy print you an all access security pass and you can explore and” he gestured vaguely, “stuff. If anyone asks, you’re my personal intern and you’re just getting to know the place before you start officially running errands and helping me.” He smiled, shooting Loki a thankful glance. “Now stop stalling and finish up your homework, no more questions.” He joked, walking out of the room.

 

Around 20 minutes later, Peter arrived at the lab. He was clutching a notebook to his chest and tapping his hands against his thigh, clearly anxious.

“Hey Peter, how are you?” Bruce smiled warmly, wrapped in an oversized jumper, and almost drowning in papers covered in ink and diagrams. “I just need a few minutes to clean up and then we can get started, I’m sorry. I lost track of time; Luke from level 12 R&D sent me some plans for like, 12 different projects to look over and time got away from me.” The man sounded impossibly tired and Peter suddenly felt guilty for burdening him.

“Uh, actually Mr. Banner, I just wanted to drop off my notebook- and my permission slip for Mr Stark -but we should take a break from work. Maybe if we move on for a bit and come back to it, we can see it from a new perspective?” The words burned like acid, he didn’t want to leave their research alone, but he hated feeling like a burden. “We’ve been overworking ourselves for too long.” Bruce looked stunned.

“Pete, this is really important to you, and that means it’s important to me and Tony too. Besides, me and the old man started another test on a blood sample as well as the simulation programme and it has taken, we think we’ve got it right this time. We can’t stop now.” He stood up and placed his hands onto Peter’s shoulders, looking him directly in the eyes, “We care about you kid, a lot. We are going to help you.” Bruce refused to let Peter protest, instead taking him to their research station. “Tony is just in the other room, he’s finishing up on some Ironman thing. He’ll be out in a minute.” Bruce sat Peter down, instructing Friday to show their virtual mock-up of the lab results.

The young boy was soon enraptured by the science projected in front of him, so much so that he didn’t register Tony strutting in from behind him.   

“Hey kid, I think we’re ready to give you a jab. If you’re happy with the results we’ve collected from observations and things?” It wasn’t often that Peter and Bruce saw Tony nervous, Peter understood though, they were injecting him with a largely untested formula.

“Yeah of course I’m ready Mr Stark. Just kind of scared. I don’t want to get my hopes up if it doesn’t work. You know?” Peter shrugged like it was no big deal, but he looked dejected already.

“Well, this is mostly just a stronger, more concentrated version of what you were on before. You might need to take doses twice a week instead of once for a little while, but it should go back to normal pretty quickly.” Tony responded, preparing everything they would need.

“Besides, neither of us are going to give up on you Pete. We’re in it for the long haul.” Bruce offered what he hoped was a comforting smile before picking up the vial and the needle. “It will sting, but it should be no more than your regular jabs. Let me know when you’re ready.” Peter nodded, taking off his shirt to reveal his half-length binder. He looked towards Tony, who was wearing his hipster science glasses, and a thought popped into his head. _‘As long as Mr Stark is here, nothing bad can happen.’_ The boy reached out and clasped Tony’s hand.

“I’m ready now Mr Banner, sir.” He closed his eyes and squeezed Tony’s hand. He flinched as he felt the anti-bacterial wipe and took a sharp intake of breath as the needle pierced his skin. “Being trans fucking sucks. Did you know that I’m afraid of needles? It’s not fair.” The boy pouted, eyes still closed. Tony squeezed his hand back and Bruce moved away.

The doctor came back with a Spiderman bandaid, patching Peter up and patting him on the shoulder.

“All done kid, you did good.” Bruce’s voice was comforting and held a proud edge. Peter smiled, hand still gripping to Tony like a lifeline.

“I’m a real boy!” Peter joked, moving away from Bruce and Tony, and looking at the screens monitoring his vitals. “It looks like I won’t die because of this so ah, good job. Yeah.” He grinned at the two doctors and tapped rapidly at his thigh. “Thank you, Doctor Banner, can I- I mean, would it be okay if I hugged you?” He bit his lip and his tapping grew faster.

“Yeah of course, Pete. If you’re comfortable with them, you can always give me a hug.” The man enveloped Peter in a hug and felt a swell of pride, this young boy had been through so much and he had managed to stay strong through it all. It made Bruce want to better himself and made him wish he could have been that strong as a teenager, even into his adult life. “You’re a good kid, Pete. I’ll always be in your corner, yeah?” He felt the boy nod before pulling away.

“Thank you, Bruce. I look forward to being stabbed by you again.” Peter darted to his bag and pulled out the blue permission slip. “I need this signed Mr Stark. If you don’t mind.” He handed the form over and Tony smirked upon reading it.

“I’ll have someone give it in to reception tomorrow.” He muttered, signing his name on the dotted line.

“Oh no, no really, that’s okay Mr Stark! I can hand it in! I’ll put it in my decathlon notebook and hand it in at Friday practice.” Peter scrambled to take the paper, blushing furiously. “Having an intern hand in my paper would be _so_ embarrassing!” He explained, stuffing the paper into his history folder, and backing away towards the door of the lab.

Peter ran up to the elevator, pressing the button exactly 12 times before stepping back and waiting for the doors to open.

 

“Oh, Peter! Hello!” Peter gawked at Pepper Potts, having only met her a grand total of two times, he was still very much awe-stuck by her presence. “I was just coming to get you, Tony and Bruce for dinner. Clint requested Mexican and I need to get orders. Did you want to head up and let Cap know what you want? He and Bucky are doing the food run tonight.” She spoke sweetly, hand stopping the elevator from closing.

“Uh, yeah okay. I-I’ll go up and talk to them.” Peter seemed nervous, he had only met the two super soldiers once, and he was pretty sure he heard something about them being wanted by the government since he last saw them. “Isn’t Captain America like, a wanted criminal now or something?” He asked, tapping at his leg anxiously.

“Oh.” Pepper chuckled, “Tony and Steve sorted everything out. They decided it was best for everyone. They’re currently reviewing the accords alongside Shield.” Peter nodded, suddenly feeling stupid.

“Okay, I’ll just- go on up then.” He moved into the elevator as Pepper stepped out. “I’ll see you in a bit.” He watched her walk away as the doors slid closed. Dinner with Hawkeye, Captain America, The Winter soldier, Bruce Banner, Ironman, and the icon herself _Pepper Potts?_

Peter had not prepared himself for this.


	10. psa

Hey guys, a chapter will be up in the next 24 hours but I just want to clear some things up. When I started this story I was more focused on plot than characterisation. My Peter Parker is autistic (as am I) and he displays this a lot more from the previous chapter and all future chapters because I'm like... too lazy to go back and edit everything right now. I know that Autism is a spectrum and I can't speak for all autistic people but I can speak for myself and my Peter is similar to myself in the way I express emotions through stimming and my responses to things because I am autistic and display 'common characteristics' of an autie. I do have people in my life who are also autistic but I don't believe that it's fair for me to use their experiences when I don't fully understand those experiences.  
Thanks y'all.


	11. Dinner Is Served

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domesticity ft a breakdown because of beans? More likely than u think buddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jsjagfahgf I'm sorry, I'm moving houses and had like 3 quizzes and an assignment due this week so I literally put off editing this chapter for almost a week! It's short and I'm sorry! I hope you enjoy!

“Um, Mr Captain America sir?” Peter peered around the corner and into the living room, cautiously scanning for super-humans and heroes. Which was a difficult task considering the backs of the couches were ridiculously tall. On this floor at least.

“Nice to see you again Pete, how’s school going?” Cap’s voice was cheerful, and it led Peter to the couches.

“Um hello again. Ms Pepper told me to talk to you a-about dinner?” He moved cautiously around the couch, so he could see the man.

“Oh right, Mexican. Honestly, you can have whatever you want but Pep just prefers if we all go to the same place because it’s easier for the drivers and everything.” Steve held a carefree edge to his voice, and as Peter rounded the couch, he could see why.

Bucky Barnes, world renowned assassin, was curled up in the corner of the couch, book laying open in one hand. Steve had a sketchbook out and was carefully sketching the other man.

“Oh! I didn’t know that he was asleep. I can come back! I’m sorry.” Peter hastily moved backwards, tripping over his feet, and flailing for a moment, before landing gracefully on an armchair.

“Nah don’t bother.” Bucky mumbled, sitting up. His book fell to the floor with a loud ‘thud’ that caused Peter to wince. “Stevie should know better than t’use me as a model when ‘m reading. Can’t keep my eyes open.” He yawned and picked up the book. “You’re Peter, yeah? Stark’s kid? Nice t’see ya again.” Peter nodded, eyes wide.

“I’m so sorry for waking you up! Pepper told me to come and talk about dinner with you, so I just assumed that you’d be,” He paused as if unsure of what word to use, “awake.” He finished lamely, blushing.

“Was awake. Stevie, the little shit, asked my t’be his model for some art thing he’s doin’. Can’t say no to that face.” Bucky and Steve glared mockingly at one other until Steve broke, turning to the young boy.

“So, I assume that a kid with powers like yours must have an appetite yeah?” Steve grinned, “Buck and I could out eat anyone in the house without breaking a sweat, Could be nice to have some competition.”

“Oh, yeah I guess I get pretty hungry. I don’t each much though. May, my aunt, couldn’t afford much so I’d always make do.” He looked sad for a moment, before perking up. “So, if you’re compensating for my appetite, does that mean I can have as much food as I want?” He waited a moment for confirmation before listing his order. “Can I have two beef burritos, with no sour cream or beans. Two large chips, extra seasoning, three small tacos, extra cheese and a vanilla coke?” Peter watched as Bucky scrambled to find his pen, writing the order down. “And are we having any dessert?” He was basically giving them puppy dog eyes, pouting pitifully in the hope that it would result in him getting dessert.

“Dessert is a surprise kid, Pepper and I worked hard on making it so no spoiling it.” Tony walked through the door, Bruce, and Pepper in tow. “So put your puppy pout away.” He smiled softly at the boy and reached to ruffle his hair.

“Everyone else has already ordered apart from Stark and the Doc.” Bucky told Pepper, handing his list over to the two mentioned. “We’ll be ready t’order as soon as they give me back my list.”   
“Um, you know I have like 5 of my own PhD’s yeah? I know Banner has 7 but we’re technically _both_ doctors.” Tony interjected, pouting childishly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do I have to call you Doctor Stark now?” Peter asked, grinning, and flapping his arms.  “Or ‘Mister-Doctor Stark’ or or or-” The boy cut himself off, opting instead to fiddle with his stim bracelet. The shit-eating grin still lighting up his features.

“Kid, I swear to the fucking deities, I will turn off the god damned Wi-Fi one day soon if you don’t start calling me Tony.” The man reached out and ruffled Peter’s hair again.

“Okay Mr Stark.” Peter responded, moving to help Pepper set the table. “Anything you say.” The two made quick work, calling a goodbye to the two super-soldiers as they left to collect the food.

 

 

Dinner was a noisy affair and Peter seemed oddly quiet, which concerned his guardian. People were arguing and stealing food from one another, butt the youngest of the lot simply sat and picked at his food. He had eaten all his food apart from the burritos, which Tony found odd because apart from Mr Delmar’s sandwiches, burritos were Peter’s favourite food.

“Is everything okay Pete, you not hungry?” Tony attempted to come across as nonchalant but the worry in his eyes was a dead giveaway.

“There’s beans in my burritos.” He mumbled, cheeks taking on a red hue. The table had gone almost silent, everyone watching the interaction.

“Bea- Oh. Um, can’t you just pick them out or something?” Tony asked awkwardly, not seeing the big deal.

“No! You don’t understand! I can’t eat them now. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t just pick them out. I can’t eat them!” Peter was visibly upset, tears running down flushed cheeks, He began to rock, one hand punching against his thigh in a rapid motion.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to eat them.” Pepper spoke up, voice calm and rational, ever the voice of reason. Peter wiped his eyes and sniffed, never stopping his slow rocking.

“I can’t eat them.” He mumbled, pushing his plate away.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to eat them. I can put them in the bin right now.” Pepper said gently, standing, and removing the burritos from the table. “In a couple minutes we’ll bring dessert out, okay? And then we can watch a movie together.” Pepper took her seat and continued eating, glaring at the Avengers until they got the memo and resumed their conversations.

 

True to her word, once everyone was finished, Pepper and Tony disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a decadent red velvet cake. It took the two of them to carry and it was covered in candles.

It was set down in front of Peter, who grinned at the icing.

‘Welcome to the family, Spider-baby.’

Around it was the logos for each avenger, including Spiderman’s mask.

“Now, don’t let Tony fool you, he may have made the cake, but it was all me and Steve in the decoration.” Pepper giggled, shooting the duper-soldier in question a conspiratorial wink.

Peter thanked them profusely, grinning like a mad-man, and savoured the feeling of being wanted by people.

Each Avenger, that was present, congratulated Peter on his ‘Almost-Avenger’ status. He ate until he was content, demolishing at least three pieces of cake, and fell asleep barely thirty minutes into the movie that Clint chose.

He was finally feeling genuinely happy.


	12. Permission Slips and Mishaps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I haven't had internet. I'm uploading this at school while waiting for some hair dye to process of my mannequin head. inconsistencies are almost a given for this chapter. please don't like... hate me lolol)

Peter worked closely with Bruce and Tony over the next few weeks, monitoring vitals and being stabbed weekly, as well as being subject to blood tests and an increased appetite. The young hero was feeling lighter, a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and he knew that he had a strong support system.

Peter had also been spending a lot of time around Stark Industries, helping everyone from the newest of Interns all the way up to Pepper Potts’ personal assistant and The Avengers. He had made quite a name for himself at the tower, not literally of course, his information was classified to persons under security clearance 8. He had earned himself many nicknames, including ‘Redacted’ ‘Stark 2.0’ ‘The Kid’ and ‘Hoodie’ from the other workers.

If anyone was struggling, you could count on Peter showing up to help, he was quite modest about his capability, insisting he work through the problems, offering support and a wealth of positivity. He never just solved a problem and walked away. He once spent almost two hours helping a first-year intern to understand the intricacies of a project she was supposed to be working on.

“Come on, Redacted. There’s no way I’m going to be able to do this. I should just like, quit and become a shop assistant at some retail store.” She moaned, slumped over a table covered in plans. A computer was open on virtual blueprints of their hypothetical Stark-Phone.

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. Mr Stark wants this project to be fun. It’s a way for him to see your skill level that is true, but he wants to see your imagination. See what you can offer. A design for a practical and new phone, and three roughly working apps. I know that you’re having trouble but try and have fun with it.” Peter smiled softly at the girl, who looked close to tears. The internship on top of her college workload was proving to be a lot.

“But what f I can’t do it? What if I’m not original enough or don’t stand out?” She gripped her pencil with strength to rival Spiderman.

“You’ll be fine Lilah.” Peter reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Besides, I heard that your lab supervisor’s design for the new phone was almost identical to the newest model at the time. You’re already doing way better than what she did. And your prototype is more accessible to people with sight problems and can be used to aid hard of hearing individuals. It’s made of more affordable materials so it can be accessed easier.” Peter smiled broadly, gesturing to the mounts of planning paper and failed attempts. “I would personally count that in my top three of what I’ve seen. It shows you care. Alost every other person is trying to go with a slimmer model, you’re trying to improve its basic functions to help others.” Peter reasoned, shrugging.

“I think I know what I need to do!” Lilah exclaimed, flipping open her notebook to start fleshing out her ideas. She began mumbling to herself about accessibility and Peter knew better than to interrupt her focus, instead quietly exiting the room.

 

He stopped in at a few labs on level 64, following up on promises to check over some prosthetic designs, before making his way to his room, he had a decathlon practice before school the next day and wanted ensure he was well rested so he didn’t show up late (again) and upset Mr Harington. He walked straight past Clint, who was trying to make some kind of… pasta looking thing and entering his room. He collapsed on the bed and was out like a light. He slept through both Pepper and Tony trying to wake him up for dinner, his exhaustion finally catching up with him, and instead he slept until his alarm went off the next morning.

Peter made it to practice with three minutes to spare, though Ned didn’t show up. Peter assumed that his friend had simply forgotten and overslept (he would be correct) so he wasn’t too worried.

When Ned walked into school however, he was met with quite a sight. Peter was searching frantically through his locker, having lost his permission slip for the decathlon excursion. Mr Harington had stressed that if forms were not handed in by the date specified on the form, the student would not be allowed to go. No exceptions. He had checked everywhere, he was sure that it was with his decathlon notebook, he could remember slipping in there just after Tony signed it. Maybe…

With an aggressive sigh, the teen threw the book back into his locker, slamming the metal door shut. Peter began flapping his hands anxiously.

“Hey Pete. You okay? Where’s the cube Mr Stark bought you?” Ned was there in an instant, soothing the other boy.

“Bag. In my bag. In my locker, front pocket.” Peter began softly rocking from side to side, hand forming a fist and hitting against his thigh.

“Okay. Just a second dude.” Ned put in the combination with ease, fishing through the bag until his hand wrapped around the Ironman themed fidget cube. He handed it to Peter, watching as his friend’s focus was diverted to the object in his hands, the rocking and flapping slowly dying out.

“Sorry, Ned. It was too loud and- and I can’t find my stupid permission slip.” Peter flicked at the cube subconsciously as he and Ned made their way to their first class.

 

“Hey, Penis Parker!” Flash’s voice was loud, ringing obnoxiously in Peter’s head. “Mr Harington says that you’re the only one who hasn’t handed in your permission slip. Is it because if you go with us then your lie about being Stark’s intern will be exposed?” Peter rubbed at the back of his head, blinking rapidly.

“What does it have to do with Mr Stark?” Peter turned to Ned, obviously confused.

“Dude! The excursion is to Stark Industries, it said it on the form and Harington has reminded us like… twenty times!” Peter blinked slowly at his friend, clearly, he hadn’t paid attention to the form or their teacher.

Ned rolled his eyes, Peter missing key information wasn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence. How the boy managed to live a double life as a crime-fighting Spider, Ned could never understand.

“That’s right, Penis. And when we get there, everyone will believe me, they’ll know you’re a filthy fucking liar.” Flash sneered at the two boys before pushing past Peter, shoulders clashing and sending Peter sprawling, fidget cube tumbling from his hand. “Oh ho, what’s this?” Flash leaned down to pick up the stim toy, ignoring Peter’s pleas, and pocketed it. “I think I’ll keep this.” He smirked and sauntered off, leaving Ned to console a very anxious Peter.

 

Ned managed to steer Peter into the bathrooms, muttering calming words and promising the return of his stim toy. Once the younger boy’s breathing had calmed from erratic to only slightly concerning, Ned fished out Peter’s phone from his pocket; he put in the passcode (1962) and called Mr Stark.

“Hey, Pete. What’s up? You know I have meetings all day today, is it an emergency?” Mr Stark’s voice barely masked his stress.

“Uh hey, it’s Ned… Peter’s best friend. Um… some kid took the fidget cube that you got for Peter and he lost his excursion form. He’s kind of… upset?” Ned was rubbing Peter’s back comfortingly, the younger boy crying who was softly into his shoulder, once again hitting his leg.

“Can you hand the phone over to him please? Thank you, Ned.” Tony waited a moment before he heard Peter’s voice on the line.

“M-Mr Stark? I’m really sorry that Ned called you. I- I know that you- you’re really busy.” Peter winced at his shaking voice, barely above a whisper. “I swear I didn’t mean to lose the fidget cube. I j-just dropped it and-and-and-and-and-and-” He was cut off by Tony.

“Hey, Peter calm down. Take a deep breath, okay? I’m not angry that you lost the cube. I mean, fuck- Pete, I bought you like thirty of them. I’m not angry about it.” He kept his voice low, reassuring, and soft. He heard Peter mumble an ‘okay’ before he continued. “Now, can you tell me about this excursion form? Ned told me you lost it?” He heard a sharp intake of breath, a brief pause, and then Peter spoke.

“I had to hand it in by today. I remember putting it in my decathlon notebook. I was looking for it and it’s not there anymore.” Peter squeezed Ned’s hand, appreciating the support from his best friend. “I don’t need to go, I just… I wanted to go, Mr Stark. I was really looking forward to it.” The teen bit his lip, tension in his shoulders rising. “I’m so stupid. I can’t believe I lost it. I’m always so stupid!” Ned grabbed his hand to stop the superhero from punching himself.

“That is not true.” Tony’s voice was harsh, cutting through Peter’s haze of self-destruction. “I can just call the school, it’s no biggie. Besides, if you can’t go, we can just have a workshop day, okay?” His voice was reassuring, causing Peter to smile and wipe his tears.

“Thank you, Mr Stark. Um- I mean… If I can’t go could we work on the new prototypes? The ones I was designing with you the other day?” He began bouncing on the balls of his feet, chattering excitedly about his ideas, worries all but forgotten.

“Of course, yeah, we can do that, Peter. Oh! And before I go, you left your homework folder on the kitchen bench. I’ve sent Ms Potts’ assistant to return it. She should be there in like 15 minutes?” Tony sounded almost like a concerned parent.

“Thank you, Mr Stark, and her name is Aisha. Not ‘Ms Potts’ assistant’ It’s high time you learned that sir.” Peter teased, moving towards the front office with Ned in tow. He quickly ended his conversation with his guardian and began chatting with Ned, waiting for Aisha to show up.

 

True to his word, Aisha arrived exactly fifteen minutes later, handing Peter his folder, and ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Oh Peter, what would you do without me?” She joked, fixing the upturned collar of his shirt.

“Probably die.” He joked, causing the woman to scoff, and fondly hit in over the head.

“Don’t say shit like that.” She scolded, before apologising and running off, having been called to an urgent meeting.

 

Peter flipped through his folder absentmindedly, checking all of his history packet was completed, when he spotted a familiar blue paper crumpled at the bottom of his folder. He pulled it out and stared accusingly at the font.

“Dude!” Ned exclaimed, snatching the paper. “We gotta go hand this in!” Not giving his friend a chance to reply, Ned whisked them away to Mr Harington’s office.

Ned waited outside while Peter handed in his paper.

“Now, Mr Parker, I understand that you’ve been going through a lot since your aunt…” He trailed off, noticing Peter flinch. “But I must insist you come clean about the false nature of this Stark internship before the field trip Monday or we will have no choice but to take disciplinary action.” The man filed away the permission slip, staring Peter down as if attempting to intimidate him into a confession.

“Well I’m very sorry, Mr Harington sir, but my internship is real. I can guarantee that you will see that during the excursion. Have a good day.” And without waiting for a reply, Peter walked out. Hot tears threatened to spill over his flushed cheeks, embarrassment clouding every inch if his mind.

Ned came as a good distraction, chatting animatedly about some Lego set he wanted to get, and Peter almost forgot all about his encounter with the decathlon teacher,

 

Peter was more talkative than usual on the way home, Happy very nearly regretted picking him up. He was very glad when Peter said his goodbyes, barely letting the kid out of the car before driving away. The over-excited boy barely slowly for the sliding doors, bounding past the receptionist, smiling brightly as she greeted him with a cheerful ‘Good Afternoon, Mr Parker.’ He fumbled to pull the key-pass from his pocket, clumsily tapping it against the sensor before stepping into the scanner.

“Welcome back Peter, how was school?” Friday’s voice greeted him, momentarily distracting him from the scanner that was doing a search of his backpack.

“My day sucked.” His voice was incredibly cheerful, a contradiction of the sentiment of his words. “I was pushed, and I lost some super important things. Then I found my things. But then my teacher got grumpy at me” He rambled, moving to the elevator. “Is Mr Stark in his lab?” He asked the A.I.

“No, unfortunately not, Mr Stark is in a meeting that has run overtime. Shall I inform him that you’re here?” It was the same thing he heard almost every day.

“No thanks Fri, can you just bring me up to floor 98?” Peter chatted casually with the A.I until the elevator doors opened, revealing the one and only Loki, who seemed delighted by the presence of the youngest tower resident.


	13. Confessions and Paperwork

Loki grinned at the appearance of Peter Parker, having waited for the boy to arrive for almost thirty minutes.

“Loki! I didn’t know you were coming to visit! How are you? How is Asgard?” Peter dropped his schoolbag, rushing to envelope the deity in a hug.

“Ah, yes. I’ve missed your excitable chatter young Peter.” Loki led the young boy to the couch, capturing his attention with grand stories of home.

“Oh!” Peter suddenly shot up from the couch, running to his backpack. “I have a gift for you.” He exclaimed, rushing back with his hand clenched around three small objects.

Loki accepted the small handful and her eyes widened upon realising what she held. Peter had given her three small badges, one reading ‘They/Them’ another reading ‘She/Her’ and the final badge reading ‘He/Him’.

“Thank you, Spider-child, these will be of great use to me.” The god then plucked the yellow ‘She/Her’ badge and pinned it onto her robes. “This means a great deal to me; it will not be forgotten anytime soon.” And with that. Peter found himself enveloped in a hug from the goddess of mischief.

“How long are you staying at the tower, will you be here for dinner?” The two had moved to the couch, Peter was sitting cross-legged and facing Loki, who had her legs crossed delicately, torso turned to face the hyperactive child.

“I will stay for as long as your father’s hospitality allows.” She was oblivious to the blush that creeped up Peter’s neck, continuing to speak. “I do believe that his opinion of me is that I am a bad influence on his son, but I enjoy your company.” Peter was completely red, picking at the hem of his shirt.

“Tony isn’t my dad! He’s just… a guardian? Like he looks after me but he’s not my dad. And I mean, I don’t mean that much to him. Really, it’s his job to look after me. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even want to. But, yeah. He’s just… Tony.” Peter shrugged, too embarrassed to admit that he saw Tony as father figure.

 

~~~~

Tony stood in the doorway; eyes trained on the back of Peter’s head as he spoke Loki.

“He’s just… Tony.” The comment hurt, he knew he could never replace Ben or even May, but Tony had come to think of Peter Parker as his own kid. He was terrified that he would turn out like Howard, cold and distant, and he so desperately wanted to be there for Peter. Though it seemed according the boy, Tony wasn’t as different from Howard as the man had hoped.

“Well, that is my name, Kid. Let’s not wear it out.” He slipped on his signature ‘confident billionaire’ mask, smirking at the pair on the couch. “Though it is a refreshing change from ‘Mr Stark’ and your other formalities.” Tony wandered around to the kitchen area and began making himself a coffee.

Peter jumped, feeling guilty about his words. He didn’t want anyone to suspect that he saw Tony as a father figure, especially not the man himself.

“Oh! Mr Stark! Friday said you were in a meeting…” The boy seemed unsure of what to do. “Um, anyway, I promised that I would help Abbey and Kalum with some things at the big R&D lab on floor 70 so…” Peter nodded to himself, and walked out of the room, face flushed and tears gathering rapidly. He furiously wiped at his eyes, instructing Friday to take him to his intended destination, attempting to pull himself together.

 

“Hey, it’s The Kid!” Kalum yells from their hunched position at the computer, seeing Peter walk through the doors. “You’re late.” They huffed, standing to engulf Peter in a half hug.

“Yeah, sorry Kal. I got stuck in a conversation with L- um, with a friend.” Peter shrugged, scanning the room. “Where’s Abbey? She’s supposed to be in today, right?”

“Aw, man. I wish. Her wife got sick, so she went home about an hour ago to look after their kids. Left me all alone, that bitch.” Peter chuckled, knowing there was no malice behind those words. Kalum and Abbey had been friends since the two of them were like… seven. “So, it’s just me for you today.” Kalum shrugged, sitting back at their computer.

“Alright, what did you need help with?” He asked, hopping up onto a bench and swinging his legs.

“I mean, without Abbey there isn’t really much point. I don’t want to go ahead with her idea if she isn’t here.” Kalum shrugged, typing away. “I’m just working on some of the mock ups for the hospital bots that we pitched last year. I have a couple miniature ones on my desk somewhere, but there’s some kinks I can’t seem to figure out.” Kal fiddled with a pen and fixed their bright purple bangs, letting out a pitiful sigh.

“Huh.” Peter glanced at said prototypes. “Is it a mechanical problem or coding or?” The two began bouncing ideas off of one another, pausing momentarily whenever someone else would wander over to ask something of Peter.

 

The young boy eventually managed to leave floor 70, two hours later than he anticipated and with a stack of papers for his guardian, which would probably end up with Pepper anyway, Tony isn’t exactly the type to do hid paperwork.

“Peter! Hey, how was school?” Steve was sitting at the kitchen island, sketchbook and pencils laid out in front of him.

“Hey, Mr Rogers. Captain America, sir. School was okay. I almost got detention though, but I didn’t! Good thing too, if I have to listen to one more of your PSA’s I might like… neck.” Peter grins, placing the stack of paperwork down.

“They still make you watch those?” Cap grimaced. “That’s rough.” He chuckled to himself and shook his head, turning back to his artwork.

“You know, you should as d- uh… You should ask Tony to frame some of your work, put it up around the tower.” Peter moved behind the captain to watch him work. “It’s really brilliant. Makes me feel emotions, which is a nice change.” He quipped, making Steve snort. “But really, people should see these.” Both men stared at the sketches in solemn silence, before a sleep deprived Bruce walked into the room.

“Hey Cap, Peter.” He mumbled, shuffling to the coffee machine. The two greeted Bruce simultaneously, watching him worriedly as he poured himself a mug of coffee.

“Um… Dr Banner, maybe you should take a break from… whatever it is that you’re doing. You look pretty beat.” Peter walked over to the doctor, grabbing the mug, and guiding the scientist to the couch. “Please, just take fifteen minutes. And then you can go back to the lab.” Peter instructed, pulling a blanket off the armchair and draping it over Bruce’s shoulders.

“Okay, but only-” he cut himself off with a yawn, “only fifteen minutes.” Peter nodded, moving back to the kitchen area and pouring the mug of coffee down the sink, rinsing the ceramic before drying it off and replacing it.

Bruce woke up almost two hours later, sitting up and ruffling his hair, wiping sleep from his eyes. He frowned upon hearing a hushed argument from the kitchen.

“-a kid, Mr Stark! I mean, can you really be trusted looking after some _kid_? You can barely look after yourself!” It was a female voice; one he didn’t recognise.

“Ms McKinley, I understand your concerns, but Peter is not just _some kid_ , he’s my kid. And he is an extraordinary one at that. Besides, I’m not doing this alone. I have Ms Potts and her g-” Tony paused, seeming at a loss for words, “-her close friend and assistant Aisha.” Bruce slowly and quietly moved until he could see the pair clearly.

“Well, regardless of your newest fling and her _friends,_ you are unfit to be Peter’s guardian. Our verbal contract specifically stated that he be kept _away_ from the Avengers, but is that not the Hulk, a seething rage monster, sleeping on your couch?” Her voice dripped with disgust, with Tony or himself, Bruce couldn’t tell. “Not to mention Peter’s academic performance-”

“His aunt just died. He is no academic danger, I assure you. His grades may have slipped but he is still miles ahead of his peers. Don’t you dare suggest that May’s death had no impact on him. He is _trying_ to get better, and _he is_ getting better.” Tony gestured around him. “Taking him away is not going to improve his mental health, stability or his grades.” He seethed.

“Well!” The McKinley woman sounded flustered and indignant. “You can hardly be trusted with him, given your obvious disregard for the verbal contract.” She huffed; arms crossed firmly.

“Oh please, do forgive me; Peter is obviously so terribly miserable being surrounded by his childhood heroes and feeling protected by them. How could I take his best interest into account when making the decision to move him to the tower, which is closer to his school than any of my other properties. How dare I take my son’s wellbeing into my own hands.”  
Bruce reeled at the admission that Tony thought of Peter as his son, not surprised at the knowledge but surprised to hear Tony admit it so confidently.

“He is not your son.” McKinley’s voice was as cold and sharp as ice.

“Yes. He is. In fact, I’ve been in contact with my lawyers and had an adoption form drawn up. I do believe that it was faxed to your supervisor’s office in the last five minutes; such a shame that you happened to be on a home visit at the time and were unable to have a say in the approval process.” Tony smirked, slipping easily into the role of smartass, playboy, billionaire.

“How dare you-” Tony held up a hand, silencing her.

“That’s all. As of seventy-three seconds ago, the case of Peter Parker is no longer yours to reside over.” He motioned to the door, “If you wouldn’t mind getting off my property and never coming back?” She gaped at him before huffing once again and storming out in what Bruce would describe as a childish demeanour.

The scientist could see a Bluetooth ear-piece in Tony’s ear, probably giving him live updates from Friday on Peter’s case.

He turned around, ready to head back to his lab, when he spotted Peter gaping in the doorway.

“You think of me as your son?”


	14. Conversations and (more) Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's 1am. I'm sorry.  
> Peter and Tony talk.  
> Glimpse into MJ's character for this fic.  
> Flash is a dick.  
> Peter and Pepper talk.  
> Field trip next chapter.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS:
> 
> (potential spoilers)
> 
> Deadnaming  
> Misgendering  
> Physical violence  
> Mentions of sexual favours (rumours)
> 
> If there's any I missed, let me know!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap I got so much positive feedback on that last chapter. I love you all so much!! Please comment any mistakes because it's 1am and I'm sick.  
> Enjoy this chapter. I promise promise promise that the field trip will be next chapter!!!! I just... I'm so tired and I can't write that tonight.

“You think of me as your son?” Peter’s voice was soft, as he walked towards Tony, though it held an almost accusing edge.

“Of course, Peter.” Bruce scurried away, feeling rather awkward.

“You can’t.” Peter stood confident, eyeing the billionaire. “I lost my dad and my mum. And then I had to watch as my uncle Ben bled out on the street, a bullet wound from a criminal I could have stopped. And then aunt May-” He stopped, a sob breaking wracking his small frame. “You can’t say that unless you mean it.” The boy drew in a breath, looking more fragile than Tony thought possible, and continued talking. “You can’t say that unless you promise not to leave me too. I can’t lose anyone else, Mr Stark, please-” Peter began sobbing violently, falling into Tony’s arm when the man moved to hug him.

“Oh, Peter. I’m so sorry… I should have realised you would feel- I’m sorry. I promise I mean it.” He hugged Peter tightly, running a hand through the child’s hair. “I won’t leave you, I’m right here.” He continued mumbling reassurances until Peter pulled away, rubbing his eyes, and offering a watery smile.

“I’m sorry, Mr Stark. I don’t know why-” Peter cleared his throat, stepping away from Tony. “Thank you… dad.” He blushed, a grin splitting across his face.

“Aw shucks, Pete. You’re gonna melt my cold heart.” Tony joked, lightly pushing Peter.

The two chuckled, Tony offering Peter a handkerchief from his pocket.

 

Things ran smoothly from there, Ann got back to Tony in a matter of hours, delighted that he wanted to adopt Peter, and the two arranged times for a house call and date for the document signing. Peter decided he couldn’t wait for the signing day to arrive, practically buzzing from excitement, Tony had to threaten him for walking up the walls and onto the ceiling.

“I’m sorry Mr- Dad. I mean- not Mr Dad. Just dad. I’m just really hyped up about the whole adoption thing.” Peter smiled sheepishly, flipping off the wall and landing in the classic superhero kneeling pose. He ruffled his hair, tugging slightly, a nervous stim, and grinned at his guardian, his dad.

“I know Peter, you don’t need to be sorry.” Peter took that as permission and once again clamoured up the walls, much to Tony’s amusement.

 

The next day Peter was thrown from his bubble of bliss and back into the turmoil that exists outside of Stark Tower.

 "Hey, Penis Parker! You know, nobody actually believes you got that Stark Internship, right?" Flash's voice was a harsh reminder of reality as Peter stepped into school the next day. He closed his eyes briefly, willing his emotions under control.

“Why would I lie, Flash? I applied same as you. I had the same chance as you did.” Peter spoke softly, eyes boring a hole into the ground at his feet, when suddenly he felt a searing pain in his scalp as Flash pulled his head up by the hair.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, bitch.” He growled, hand moving fast as lighting to connect with the left side of Peter’s ribcage.

“Hey, Eugene, maybe Stark would have considered you if you weren’t failing two subjects and an alternate on decathlon.” MJ, who had been absent due to family issues, ones she refused to speak about, suddenly materialised beside Peter. She shot a withering look at Flash, who scoffed and scurried away, muttering about revenge.

“MJ! Hey! Thank you, when did you get back? I mean obviously it was just now- stupid question really…” Peter rambled on, cringing at himself.

“Yeah, whatever. You couldn’t last another day without me, loser.” She mumbled, still not used to the affection Peter treats friends with. “Besides, hanging out with you nerds is way more fun than trips to visit my dad.” She shrugged and offered a rare but genuine smile.

“Oh. Thank you? Um, anyway we should get to class.” Peter blushed and scurried to his locker to gather the needed books for first period. “and MJ, I’m glad you’re back with us nerds, too.”

Flash was quite for most of the day, seething silently at Peter and MJ, rather than pay attention in class. This resulted in chastising on no less than three occasions by third period, which seemed to only further the boy’s rage.

“Hey, Penis!” Flash’s voice held false cheer, laced with venom. “Since we both have free periods right now, unlike your pathetic _guard dog,_ why don’t we take a walk around the oval, hmm?” Peter gulped as he was dragged outside to the deserted grounds behind the gymnasium.

“H-hey Flash, you really don’t want t-to do this…” Peter’s eyes flicked around wildly, searching for an escape or any sign of help.

“Oh, is ickle Penis Parker scared?” Flash grabbed Peter by the collar of his jumper and shook the boy roughly. “Well you really should be, bitch.” He threw Peter to the ground, delivering a swift kick to the boy’s ribs. “I am going to fucking destroy you.” He sneered, pulling Peter up once again, only to knock him down with a solid punch to the face.

“Flash, please! Stop it… Why are yo-” Peter was cut ff by another kick, which connected with his stomach.

“Why? Because a tranny freak like you doesn’t deserve a Stark Internship! You’re nothing but an attention seeing little girl! A dyke!” Flash hoisted Peter up and sneered at the boy. “A pervert too, aren’t you, Paige?” He grinned maliciously at the tears that streamed down Peter’s face. “I bet you whored yourself out to some white-collar executive to get that internship, huh?” He barked out a cold and heartless laugh, watching as sobs wrenched through Peter’s frame. “Did pretty Parker get on his knees and _beg_ for it? Spread your pretty legs and bat your eyelashes until he took pity on you? Gave you the internship as long as you _visit him_ every day at the office?”

Each word was a knife to Peter’s heart, but his voice failed him, and he could offer no retort to Flash’s taunts.

“Aw, don’t be shy, Penis. I’m sure your _skills_ don’t allow for such a subdued personality.” Flash laughed, tossing Peter carelessly against the brick wall of the gym. “See you later, Paige.”

And with that, he was gone; Leaving a broken and sobbing Peter slumped against the wall behind him.

 

 

Peter sat there for almost thirty minutes before pulling out his phone and dialling Happy’s number. The phone rang three times before the gruff voice at the other end picked up.

“Shouldn’t you be in class, kid?” Happy asked, tone not quite matching his nickname.

“Mr Happy, can you come pick me up please? I-” started sobbing again. “I want to go home, Happy.” His voice was barely a whisper, but the man got the message.

“Shit, kid. Are you okay? Get your stuff, I’ll be there in 10 minutes, maximum.” Peter nodded, offering a muttering of affirmation before hanging up the phone and trudging to his locker, collecting his bag and homework for the night.

 

True to his word, Happy arrived at the front gate seven minutes later, looking frantic and stressed; Peter felt guilty for constantly upsetting the adults around him.

“Tony is in a conference out of town. He said he could be back by dinner.” Happy opened the door for Peter, making sure the boy was in safely before starting the car. “He told me that if you need him, he can-” Happy stopped dead, eyes trained on the bruised jaw and split lip Peter was sporting. “Kid, who did that to you?” He asked, training his eyes on the road once again, attempting to sound as non-threatening as possible.

“Nobody, Mr Happy, tell dad not to worry about leaving early. I’m fine. Honest.” Peter offered an obviously fake smile, which seemed to sate the head of security for a short while.

“Maybe, but Ms Potts is also at the Tower. She’s offered her services to look after you for the evening while your dad’s away. Doesn’t want you getting swept up in a late-night Mario Kart tournament with Clint and Sam and miss the Field Trip tomorrow.” Happy explained, watching how Peter became gradually more tense as he spoke.

“Ah, Ms Potts will be there. Wonderful.” The teen mumbled, seeming to become even more gloomy, if it were at all possible, hand drumming a steady rhythm against his thigh while the other hand spun a gold coloured fidget spinner mindlessly.

 

“Welcome back, Peter. Ms Potts has requested you join her in the communal lounge space upon your arrival, which she has been informed of.” Friday’s voice greeted Peter as he shuffled into the private elevator, by-passing the security system, and receiving looks of suspicion from the security team.

“Just take me up, Fri.” The A.I did as he instructed, closing the lift doors, and taking Peter to his designated floor.

 

 

“Peter! Why did you leave school so early? What happened to your face?” Pepper was upon him immediately, cupping his cheek and trying to examine his bruise. “Does Tony know?” She pulled the boy into a hug, who gratefully sunk into the embrace.

“No. I mean, he knows there’s an issue. But I just called Happy. And then he said Tony wasn’t in today. I didn’t want to bother him.” Pepper pulled away and smiled sadly at Peter.

“He wouldn’t be bothered at all. Here, why don’t you take a seat and I’ll call him myself, okay?” The teen felt overwhelmed by the motherly nature of Ms Potts and found himself following her subtle orders without question or hesitation.

Peter sat quietly on the couch, skimming through a book he assumed was left by Bucky, and waited anxiously for Pepper’s return.

“Hey, Pete. Tony said he could be home in an hour and that you’re an idiot for thinking you’re burdening him.” Pepper laughed quietly, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

“Ms Potts, why aren’t you and dad engaged?” Peter’s cheeks burned in embarrassment, but he was curious. The press had been speculating about their relationship for years.

“Oh.” Pepper laughed again, and Peter secretly thought it was one of the most joyful sounds he had ever heard. “Tony and I have been friends for years. We dated briefly just after the Iron Man ordeal, but then I realised I uh- well I realised I was a lesbian.” Pepper smiled fondly, momentarily lost in a memory. “Tony and I are very close, closer than most friends I’m sure, but only friends nonetheless.” Pepper absentmindedly played with a gold necklace.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for assuming.” Peter was clearly feeling embarrassed by his assumptions and doing a terrible job of hiding it.

“Oh, not at all, Peter, most people don’t actually understand me and Tony. Though I think my girlfriend, Aisha, wold be pretty upset if I was in a relationship with Tony.” Pepper chuckled at the boy’s expression.

“Ms Aisha, your assistant? Is your girlfriend? No way! That’s awesome! She’s so cool.” Peter grinned, before wincing at the pain of reopening his scabbed lip. “Ah shit.” He wiped the blood on his jumper sleeve and offered an apologetic smile to Pepper. “It should fully heal before Mr S- uh dad gets home.” He muttered weakly.

 

True to his word, Peter’s lip was almost fully healed by the time Tony got home, the bruise still stood out against his pale skin but had faded a lot since he first arrived home.

“Dad! Welcome home!” Tony had just put down his briefcase when an excited armful of teenager was flung into his arms.

“Hey, glad someone’s happy to see me.” He pulled away to examine Peter’s face. “Was it that Flash Thompson kid again?” At Peter’s nod, Tony let out a tsk of disapproval. “I’ll have a chat with him during this field trip tomorrow, yeah?” Tony grinned, a malicious glint in his eyes.

“No no no, dad please, they can’t know I know you! Everybody thinks I’m a low-level intern. In fact, most people don’t even believe that. If you talk to me, It’s going to be really hard to explain.” His mind replayed what Flash had said about how he got the internship and he felt sick. “If you see he group you have to pretend you don’t even know me. Okay?” He practically begged, frowning at his father.

“If that’s what you want, but if he says or does anything, I swear to god I’ll have Barnes and Noble themselves at the kid, yeah?” Peter snorted the nicknames for Steve and Bucky, but appreciated Tony’s sentiment, nonetheless.

“Thank you, dad. I love you.”

“Love you too, kid."

All is well in the house of Stark. At least, for now.


End file.
